Bid to transform Eastbourne’s oldest building Langney Priory into ‘high end’ B&B

Planners are hoping to renovate the oldest building in Eastbourne into a space for a high end attraction, in a fresh application which has been submitted to Eastbourne Borough Council.

Sneek peak inside Langney Priory, Eastbourne’s oldest building

A planning document submitted on behalf of owners of Historic Langney Priory Ltd said, “After years of neglect the Priory is in need of restoration and re-purposing for the 21st century.

“Historic Langney Priory Ltd in partnership an Eco Chateau project are planning to sympathetically transform the building and grounds into a high-end Training Hotel/B&B offering transnational work placements, conferencing, small festivals and a wide range of historic, rural and ecological training experiences.”

The plans, which hope to change the site’s use to a training hotel, say the “key ambition” of the project is to develop Langney Priory with “minimal sensitive alterations” to the building and cottage.

The Grade II* 11th Century Building in Etchingham Road could host overnight stays for wedding guests, and those attending weddings in the Priory Chapel.

There is also plans for yoga, pilates, and wellbeing classes, as well as a small gym, new cafe and farm shop.

Parts of the gardens would be given over for temporary structures such as yurts, shepherds wagons, ecopods and workshops, the plans say.

Built in 1121, Langney Priory was initially a monastic farm, known as a grange, which existed before the Reformation. It became a lay-owned agricultural holding after 1537.

Historians believe the complex of buildings, which came to be known as the Priory, were able to sustain an enclosed community in a self-sufficient way.

The name Priory was given to it in the early 20th Century; it had previously been known as Langney Farm.

The planning application is available for the public to view on the Eastbourne Borough Council website, under the application number 190202.