Plans in to convert historic Southampton hotel to student housing

The Dolphin Hotel in Southampton is set to be converted to provide accommodation for 99 students. The owner, Dolphin Hotel Property, has filed a change-of-use application with Southampton City Council. The Grade II listed hotel has most recently been used temporarily by the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers, owing to “a significant drop in hotel occupation”. The planning documents submitted to the council said that the hotel operator had considered letting the hotel to the Home Office to be a more viable option for the building in the short term, and had hoped that the local hotel market would bounce back. However, that has not turned out to be the case, and the use of the building by the Home Office will cease in May. Dolphin Hotel Property said it had filed the plans to convert the hotel to student accommodation in order to enable a long-term viable use for the hotel. The change of use was proposed as the Southampton City Council Housing Strategy 2016-2025 confirms the need for student accommodation to service the 40,000 students who attend the city’s two universities, “to reduce the pressure on potential family homes”. The proposed student accommodation will adopt a fully serviced approach, which includes dining facilities on-site, so that the operation will be similar to the previous hotel use. View other planning applications in Southampton >>