The Hotel Bon Port went into administration in 2010 and was sold off for £1.7m. that year. It shut its doors for the final time in 2013.
Little has been done since then, despite planning including the hotel in a two-year scheme to make it easier to become housing in 2021.
The latest plan put forward would be to create one large luxury dwelling and five smaller homes.
The five units would be created from the building at the back of the hotel and the gatehouse, leaving the main body of the hotel for a principal house.
In its heyday the hotel had been well known as a wedding and party venue, but located at the end of a winding lane, narrow even by St Martin’s standards, it had become notorious for traffic issues.
The latest plans were tentatively welcomed by St Martin’s parish.
‘From the point of view of the parish, we obviously accept that it’s not a location that I believe will ever see a hotel again due to the access problems,’ said senior constable Dave Beausire.
‘At the end of the day, we would be pleased to see it developed, and if it’s for extra housing, that’s good. The reality is any development is limited by the traffic that can fit down that lane.
‘I think planning has got to be logical in what can be actually built there, purely based on the fact that it’s such a difficult place to get to. If somebody’s willing to invest that much money in providing one large house and five separate units, I think you’ve got to look at it positively.’
However, one resident who lives nearby raised concerns that the road could not cope with the traffic that six new houses would bring.
‘The site is a wreck and does need developing, but it’s at very early stages and has fallen through before.
‘What was so dangerous when it was a hotel was access for emergency services,’ said Julia White, who lives in one of a handful of homes on the same lane.
‘Six homes will bring more traffic than two large ones, especially with regard to deliveries, and we will be putting in a representation to planning regarding the impact on traffic.’
Another resident, who asked not to be named, regularly walks her dogs down the lane and said she would welcome the removal of the ‘blight on the landscape’ the derelict site had become.
‘It would be fantastic to see it developed as it is such a beautiful location and the hotel is such an eyesore,’ she said.
‘Especially when you consider what’s nearby with Moulin Huet and the effort that has gone into the Renoir Walk. No one should be unhappy, a little bit of housing sounds appropriate and needed.’
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