A FORMER youth hostel in Abergavenny could get a new lease of life if the developer behind a proposal to create 27 new homes on the site is granted permission.

The developer, Sennybridge Ltd bought the late 18th century Grade II-Listed Mulberry House and grounds on Pen y Pound in 2014, two years after it closed and since when it has remained empty.

An application submitted to Monmouthshire council, by Indigo Planning on behalf of the developer, details a proposal to create 27 homes within the former chapel, annexe and on the site’s land.

If approved the re-development would see 19 apartments created, of which 16 would be affordable homes within the 1950’s annex and three within the main house. The chapel would become a three-bed home and six houses and a flat would be built on land at the back of Mulberry Court, together with 34 parking spaces and landscaping.

A planning statement by Indigo Planning said the conversion of the main house has been designed sensitively to ensure it respects the character of the Grade II-Listed building. It adds that the former chapel on the first floor will be largely retained to enhance the design and character of the proposals.

It originally housed The Convent run by the Order of St Michael before being taken over by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) which ran it as a field study centre for inner city children for 30 years.

It was transferred to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea following the abolition of the ILEA in 1990 and became the Ty’r Morwydd Environmental Studies Centre in 1994.

Mulberry House Hostel, Gwent’s first Youth Hostel Association affiliated hostel opened in 2009 in part of the Old Convent. The building comprises of accommodation, a 2,500 volume library with large gardens, communal lounges, classrooms and conference facilities. It also has a substantial side extension which was added in the late 1950s.

In 2012 the board of trustees, operating under the umbrella of Mulberry House, took the difficult decision to close the centre, blaming a reduction in visits from schools and the need for significant investment in a building which it did not own.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea agreed to sell the site because it wasn’t suitable for letting as the only viable use would be a form of hostel or field study centre with accommodation. It also said the empty building was in poor condition and provided a limited income.

A heritage survey found that the proposed development would return the building to its historic residential use and better secure its long term future which, without these proposals, is likely to be prejudiced due to the current condition and vacancy.

Monmouthshire council has yet to consider the application.