A former hotel site in Rhyl will be turned into flats over ten years after it burnt down.

Wales and West Housing Association has been given planning permission to turn the Grange Hotel site in Rhyl into apartments.

Yesterday, members of Denbighshire’s planning committee voted to grant planning permission

The hotel was devastated by a fire in 2008 and the site has lain empty ever since.

The site has been cleared of all previous development and has been vacant since demolition works in 2016.

41 apartments for local residents over 55 years of age will be built.

A single four-storey block of 41 apartments with storage areas and servicing at lower ground floor level with entrance and lift are planned.

The building would be set back from Marine Drive by approximately 10 metres and comprise a rectangular building with a footprint measuring approximately 49m wide by 17m deep.

Rhyl East county councillor, Tony Thomas whose ward includes the site, said: “This has been empty for many years and subject to an intense fire which has turned it into an eyesore in an area where there has been considerable investments with the aim of the regeneration of Rhyl.”

He added: “Wales and West have come forward with a business case for this scheme to provide 41 quality apartments meeting the Welsh Government’s housing requirements and indeed our own stringent regulations. We are all aware of the desperate need for housing in the coastal areas. It is possibly a little shy on parking but given the age of the clients and the close proximity to the High Street I don’t see this as a real problem.”

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of granting planning permission.