THE OWNERS of Newport’s Clarence House are set to be given a £750,000 loan to convert two of its upper floors into hotel accommodation.

Newport City Council has secured £1 million of Welsh Government repayable funding to support regeneration projects fo vacant and under-used sites across the city.

A proposal to convert two vacant upper floors of the 11-storey office building in Clarence Place into 28 apart-hotel rooms is set to be given £750,000 from the fund.

The money will also enable an upgrade of the building facade which is described as ‘tired’ and in need of investment.

Under the plans, floors eight and 10 will each be converted to provide 14 apart-hotel rooms containing a bathroom, an open plan kitchen and living area, and one or two bedrooms.

Planning permission has already been secured to convert one of the two floors.

Nine Hills, the owners of Clarence House, has requested a £750,000 loan with a 36-month repayment schedule.

The developer is also investing £50,000 of its own money in the refurbishment project and is expecting it to take 16-months to complete.

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“Funding provides an opportunity to upgrade a prominent city centre building,” a council report says.

“The property is located alongside the main rail routes in to the city, and is therefore one of the first key buildings visible to visitors.

“The property is tired looking, requiring improvements to its façade, and does not create a positive first impression to anyone arriving in the city.

“The TCRF ( Town Centre Repayable Funding) will support the refurbishment of the property façade.”

It is proposed that the two floors will be leased to Gateway Apartments, which currently already has a 10-year lease of the ninth floor , where rooms have been refurbished and converted into 14 short stay apart-hotel rooms.

The scheme will also create jobs and provide “much needed bed spaces” to support the new International Convention Centre Wales.

Welsh Government funding has been made available to Newport council for a 15-year period, with the authority required to pay it back by 2034.

An admin fee of 3.5 per cent has been agreed with Nine Hills in addition to the £750,000 loan, which will be ringfenced to support the council’s regeneration team in the city centre.

Council leader, Cllr Jane Mudd, is set to approve the application for funding next Thursday March 26, as a delegated cabinet member decision.