A four-storey hotel with a café restaurant could be built at the former site of an amusement arcade destroyed in a huge fire a decade ago.

The spot on Northdown Road in Cliftonville has been empty for years, after the property, which housed the Time Tunnel Leisuredrome and the Beano Café next door, was gutted by the blaze in 2009.

Some 16 fire engines and 80 firefighters battled the inferno, which severely damaged four of 14 buildings in the row of terraced properties, which consists of shops and accommodation above.

The Time Tunnel building, which bore the brunt of the fire, was gutted and the building eventually torn down, leaving a hole in the high street’s landscape for years.

But now plans have been submitted to the council to transform the site into a 45-bed hotel, with a café restaurant at ground floor level and parking.

Architorium Developments, which is representing the applicant Long Eaten Development Ltd, says it wants to bring the disused site back into use to reinforce the character of the area and add something new to the street scene.

“On the ground floor and basement level of the building an ancillary café is proposed which will reinforce the positive and interactive ground floor retail already evident on Northdown Road,” the developer said.

“The hotel rooms are on the rear of the ground floor as well as on the first, second and third floors.

“The proposed development will regenerate an unsightly vacant lot whilst reinforcing the context and character of the surrounding area.”

In the planning document, put together by specialists Just Planning, the developer says it will make use of the roof space so the hotel would sit in line with the existing buildings along the street and that it would have a sympathetic architectural design, fitting in with those around it.

“It would bring an unsightly vacant lot back into productive use resulting in a net gain to the local environment and a net economic gain to local jobs,” the developer added.

Northdown Road has been the focus of regeneration in recent years, similar to that of Margate Old Town, with new shops and bars opening.

See the plans at planning.thanet.gov.uk.

To see the plans visit planning.thanet.gov.uk and search F/TH/20/0873.

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