PLANS to turn an historic building in Portishead into flats have been thrown out after an appeal.
Masons who own the former industrial railway station building in Pier Road submitted a planning application to turn the Masonic Lodge into flats in 2010.
More than 70 objections to the building’s development were received and the application was refused on the grounds of lack of parking facilities and the intrusion on adjacent properties.
The masons, who have not used the hall for about five years, appealed against North Somerset Council’s decision but earlier this month the Planning Inspectorate upheld the decision to refuse the development.
The masons say they are now considering their options.
In May the Portishead and Bristol Lifeboat Trust announced that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was considering adopting the lifeboat and was seeking a suitable operations site.
The area of beach in front of the old Masonic Lodge is one of the sites included in the feasibility study. The old lodge may now be considered for a new lifeboat station, with a slipway built to link the station to the beach.
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