Ipswich council approves Great White Horse Hotel redevelopment in Bognor Regis

In bognor regis, Ipswich Borough Council approved plans on Wednesday morning to bring the Great White Horse Hotel back into use as a mixed-use development. The empty Grade II* building in Tavern Street would keep commercial space, add flats and a 48-room boutique hotel if the scheme goes ahead.

The plan would retain three commercial units on the ground floor, create residential flats in part of the hotel and include a community use room. It would also return the hotel to use after a number of years standing empty.

Great White Horse Hotel

The hotel is a historic building in Ipswich town centre that once hosted Charles Dickens, The Beatles and King Charles II. John Howard, the historic hotel owner, was pictured outside the Great White Horse Hotel.

The approval gives the scheme a route back into active use after years of vacancy. It also sets out a practical mix for the building: trading space at street level, housing above and a smaller hotel operation inside the wider structure.

Historic England register

The scheme would also remove the building from Historic England's Heritage at Risk register if it proceeds. That is the clearest sign in the approved plans that the building's status would change, not just its use.

For people in Ipswich town centre, the immediate effect is that the site moves from empty landmark to a live redevelopment proposal with named uses attached. The approved design now points toward three commercial units, homes and a 48-room boutique hotel rather than continued vacancy.