A family-run restaurant which closed down last year could be transformed into housing.

East Coast Restaurant, on Scratby Road in Ormesby, stopped trading in October 2023 due to rising costs and staffing issues.

But a company called Secure Tours Ltd is seeking permission from Great Yarmouth Borough Council to change the use of the building to a single two-bedroom house.

The applicant is seeking prior approval for the application - and said that all habitable rooms benefit from natural adequate light.

It is not the first time the proposal has come before planners who in September this year refused a previous, similar bid. 

At the time, planning officers raised concerns about potentially poor living conditions at the property. 

The renewed application sees the number of bedrooms reduced from three to two, with one of the rooms, which did not provide enough natural light, instead converted into a utility room.

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

On this occasion, it has been agreed with the head of planning that an ecological statement will not be needed as the proposed works do not include alterations to the roof void.

Norfolk County Council Highways has no objection to the plans. 

READ MORE: Butchers shop that thrived for 100 years could be turned into housing

When the East Coast Restaurant closed in October last year, the owners said the "last couple of years of rising costs and staffing issues [had] just felt like a relentless battle".

The applicant, Secure Tours Ltd, is based in Broadland Business Park in Norwich. According to Companies House, it lets and operates real estate.

A decision on the bid, currently in the hands of planners at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, is expected by December 17.