A distinctive high street building which has stood empty in Weston-super-Mare for years could be turned into a huge 12-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Number 131, in the Grove Park area of town, is a Victorian building with a “Flemish inspired” facade. It used to be occupied by sandwich chain Subway, but has sat empty for at least three years, and suffered vandalism on the first floor.

Now a planning application submitted to North Somerset Council proposes a major renovation building, with new floors and a new roof to turn it into a 12-bed HMO.

You can view and comment on the plans here: https://planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=S5M60BLPGMT00

HMO designation covers a wide range of house types where the occupants do not officially form one household. Some HMOs may essentially be a family home shared by friends, while others may be more similar to a block of small flats with some shared facilities.

There would be rooms located across all floors under the plans, including a manager’s flat. Two larger flats and the manger’s flat would have en-suite bathrooms while others would share these facilities. A communal space would be included at the first floor front of the building.

A statement submitted with the application said: “The property has been empty for some time and was last used as a sandwich shop. The location of this is not close enough to the town centre to support a retail use.

“There are very few retail uses on this part of High Street which suggests that this use is not viable and therefore there will be no loss to retail activities in the town. It is worthy of note that the retail space on the other side of Old Post Office Lane is empty and there are homeless charities located on the ground floors opposite.”