AN empty hotel on a prestigious parade that was put on the market for £25million four years ago could be transformed into a block of homes, but none of the homes will be affordable.

Now the fate of the Grade-II listed Averard Hotel building in Lancaster Gate is due to be decided by Westminster City Council’s planning committee on Monday.

Residents’ association and council officers are backing a developer’s plans to restore the crumbling site that has been unoccupied since the Averard Hotel was shut around 2008. Applicant Lancaster Gate Investments’ plans include no affordable housing owing to “viability”.

Council officers say they are willing to accept a financial contribution of at least £1.4million towards affordable housing provision elsewhere in the borough.

Several applications for the property have been either withdrawn or refused since 2013.

One, which was for a dozen self-contained flats, was turned down by the city council partly due to “lack of affordable housing provision”.

“It is now under new ownership and this proposal seeks to bring the building back into use for residential purposes, by extending and restoring the building, balancing current day requirements for a sustainable and functional residential building with the protection of the heritage asset,” officers write.

Initially constructed as two townhouses in the middle of the 19th century, the buildings were amalgamated into a single premises, the Averard Hotel, in the 1930s.

A council report notes that due to the time which has elapsed since the establishment was closed more than a decade ago, the site “is in very bad condition”, and is on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

The report adds the South East Bayswater Residents’ Association “welcome the proposal to bring the building back into use”, with a resident also supporting the scheme.

One one-bed, seven two-bed and three three-bed flats would be built in the former hotel.

Two of these would exceed the 200 square metres size limit for new homes, though officers write they are “content” there is justification for allowing this within the plans as the design of the rooms protects the listed building and delivers a good standard of residential accommodation.

On the affordable homes, officers note that due to the potential heritage impact and site constraints, it is not considered “entirely practicable|” to deliver a second lift in the building, which is often required for such accommodation.

Officers have recommended approval be granted by the committee, subject to a section 106 “developer contributions” agreement and planning conditions.