Tenants in the Royal Crescent buildings earmarked for development alongside Nayland Rock Hotel have been issued with eviction notices.
Residents in flats at the adjoining 7-8 Royal Crescent building received the Section 21s this month giving them until June 16th to find new homes.
In a solicitor letter on behalf of letting agents Regency Properties and landlord Brede Hotels Ltd tenants have been told the landlord requires possession of the homes. It is understood that 18 tenants are affected.
One tenant said: “We (the tenants) have all been issued with a Section 21 notice and have been told to vacate the premises in 8-weeks by June 16th. It’s going to be tricky finding somewhere suitable in a relatively short time.”
The no fault eviction notices come ahead of planned redevelopment at Nayland Rock Hotel and 1-8 Royal Crescent to create a restaurant, function space,16 serviced apartments and 50 flats.
Redevelopment plans
A planning application submitted to Thanet council says works to refurbish the existing residential accommodation at 6 (vacant), 7 and 8 Royal Terrace will provide 27 flats, including 16 studio units and 11 two bed units, along with alterations to the roof.
Numbers 3, 4 and 5 Royal Terrace will be converted (or reinstated) to private residential use, with internal changes including partitions, a new staircase and a lift. A total of 24 new flats will be created including 13 studio units and 10 two bed units and one three bed unit.
Numbers 1-2 Royal Crescent, will be the site of a restaurant and bar at ground floor and basement with 16 units of serviced accommodation.
The works have not yet been granted planning permission.
Renters’ Rights Act
The tenant said they believed the eviction notices have been issued now, prior to planning permission being granted, because Section 21s will be abolished on May 1st.
The abolishment of Section 21 comes as part of the government’s Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The Act means all assured shorthold tenancies will be converted to periodic tenancies, requiring landlords to use Section 8 to prove valid grounds for possession in court.
Regency Properties has been contacted for comment. No publicly available contact details for Brede Hotels Ltd have been found.
Royal Crescent
The Royal Crescent was constructed in around 1850 and numbers 1-5 became the Nayland Rock Hotel, inaugurated in 1884/85, to serve visitors to Margate’s growing popularity as a seaside resort.
Freeholder Brede Hotels Ltd has partnered with architects Arcvelop for the conversion of the Grade II listed building.
Previous proposals
It is the latest in a line of proposals since Brede Hotels acquired the site – through Town Pension Trustees Ltd- for £1.75m in 2016 with a view to relaunching it as a luxury hotel. The company also bought the outside fronting area from Kent County Council in 2018.
The first proposal in 2017 was for a luxury hotel with beach huts and beachfront café at the promenade. The proposal included 79 rooms; 200 cover restaurant; large function room; gym and spa; external terrace; lounge and lobby; along with the “beach hut” units along the promenade.
However, Brede Hotels Limited, whose directors included former Sands Heritage boss Nick Conington until his resignation in 2019, were not able to secure investment.
By 2022, the ambitions had been scaled back to concentrate on a spa hotel with 79 rooms; 1 serviced apartment; 140 cover restaurant and 60 cover breakfast lounge; guest only spa and gym; bar; lounge; and external terrace; with some small commercial units on the promenade.
Due to increasing costs the hotel plan changed, removing the spa and including suites for longer stay. A total of 47 serviced apartments were proposed, with 30 cover restaurant; bar and gym.
This proposal also failed to gain traction and later in the year, the architects (Holloway) came forward with a further plan seeking return to the historic terraces, reusing existing entrance doors and scaling back the previously proposed extensions. For the first time, the proposal sought a change of use to residential, with 26 private market units alongside Airbnb and short term holiday lets. This proposal was presented to officers formally in December 2023 and discussions were ongoing for over a year, prior to a formal written response in March 2025.
An amended proposal then followed with a restaurant at lower ground floor level, with five serviced holiday apartments above.
The latest plans were submitted in February this year.
No ‘viable’ affordable housing contribution
Financial viability documents for the plans say the Gross Development Value for the scheme is £18,564,000 (rounded) based on the residential sales value, the Short Stay investment value, and the commercial use investment value. A total £20m is earmarked for the project.
However, documents state the residual land value will have a deficit of -£3,474,000 (rounded) and so the “proposed scheme does not viably sustain a contribution towards affordable housing.”
Property timeline
- 1850s – The Royal Crescent was built for private dwellings and lodging houses. • 1885 – Three houses at the eastern end were converted into a hotel.
- 1885–1982 – The hotel operated, closing temporarily during the First and Second World Wars. It thrived during the heyday of British seaside holidays, before declining as cheap overseas flights drew tourists abroad. The hotel closed again in 1982.
- 1990 – The hotel reopened.
- 1997 – Operated with guests including coach tours for older people, though visitor numbers were falling.
- 2000–2008 – Used for asylum seeker accommodation on behalf of the government, with internal conversions carried out.
- Post-2008 – Ceased to operate as a fully commercial hotel. Instead, it accommodated workmen and foreign students to keep the building in use, albeit at a reduced standard due to earlier room conversions
I remember back in 1990 when Mick Jagger threw a golden wedding party for his local parents Joe & Eva at the Nayland Rock Hotel
This article is a difficult one for all the trendies of Thanet, who would normally race to support anything that they think is trendy! Evictions and no affordable housing contributions can’t sit well with this crowd who think they are so superior to the rest of the community! If I was a councillor, I would refuse the application until affordable housing was in the mix and not a possible off site contribution. We require mixed communities in Thanet, people who work, mixed in with people who are work avoiders. I feel people learn by observing others behaviours, ie getting up in the morning and taking responsibility for their actions.
Quite right, Gerard.
I didn’t find anything difficult about it, sorry!