An award-winning hotel and wedding venue in Drayton could be converted into housing.

A planning application has been sent to Broadland District Council, asking for permission to turn Stower Grange Hotel into three homes.

The application comes following the owner’s concerns that the business, which is also a restaurant, may be “unsustainable” and that he was planning to retire.

The property, which was built in the 1600s and was used as a rectory, has been on the market since 2021.

A planning statement submitted to the council said: “Due to an uncertain and potentially unsustainable future as a hotel, further accelerated by the impact of the recent pandemic, the client and owner of Stower Grange Hotel has reluctantly explored the more viable use.”

A pre-application was made recently to assess the viability and was considered acceptable by the council.

The planning proposal went on: “The conversion will continue to respect the existing listed building and landscape with minimal alterations throughout to preserve the existing access, views and internal layouts… This natural conversion to keep the existing building preserved … [will ensure] a continuity of building use and appearance to preserve the existing architecture that will be largely indistinguishable from the current building.”

The plan will be considered by the council’s planning committee in due course.