A bid to transform a family-run restaurant which closed down last year into housing has been refused.

A company called Secure Tours Ltd was seeking prior approval from Great Yarmouth Borough Council to change the use of East Coast Restaurant, on Scratby Road in Ormesby, into housing.

The plans would have seen the former eatery converted into a single three-bedroom house.

But planners have refused the application, raising concerns about poor living conditions.

According to the proposals, one bedroom would have had only one 'letterbox' window and two small circular windows.

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This was not an acceptable quantity of daylight and would have left future occupiers reliant on artificial lighting during the day, planners said.

Another issue with the application was its lack of evidence the building did not provide roosting for bats.

The East Coast Restaurant stopped trading in October 2023 due to rising costs and staffing issues.

At the time, the owners said the "last couple of years of rising costs and staffing issues [had] just felt like a relentless battle".