run-down Hostels ‘ruining' resorts

By Christina Golding

BRITAIN'S seaside resorts are allowing run-down guesthouses and hotels to ruin their image and their business, says the British Resorts Association (BRA).

The association says that the problem is caused because developers are unwilling to invest much in former guesthouses now being used for DSS accommodation. They are consequently falling into disrepair and creating ghettos, says the BRA.

"Because they are grotty and unsightly, they are used as cheap accommodation," said BRA director Peter Hampson. "Property developers are going for high volume and low yield."

The BRA is currently working on a proposal to be included in a Government White Paper on tourism, which comes out later this year, to give grants to property developers to renovate their buildings for the use of private or council dwellings.

"Every single seaside town has this problem. If it is not tackled, it will impact on other properties and people will stop coming," said Hampson.