A call to allow a dancefloor area at a Cardigan hotel to be used as a bowling alley has been submitted to county planners.

A Lawful Development Certificate is being sought for the proposed use of a former dance floor at Cardigan’s Grade-II-listed Angel Hotel, St Mary Street as a bowling alley.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness is commonly used to allow an applicant to stay at or keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy over a prolonged period.

However, in this case it is submitted to argue the proposal is covered by existing planning permissions.

A supporting statement accompanying the application says: “Considering the planning unit as a whole, being the entire hotel building, restaurant and bar and the former dance floor being a secondary element to the wider hotel use it could be considered an ancillary use.

“The change from one ancillary space to an ancillary bowling alley would therefore not constitute development and would therefore not require express planning permission.”

It adds: “In terms of the proposed use, the bowling alley would be a comparable, but less intensive than the former use.

“In essence the recreational dance floor use would be replaced with a use that would result in earlier closing times, reduced patrons, reduced noise and in general reduced planning impacts.

It summarised the proposal by saying that “even if the former dance floor constitutes, in the Authority’s opinion, a separate planning unit, the particular replacement of that use with a bowling facility does not amount to a material change of use because the proposed use does not materially alter the character, intensity or planning impacts of the existing use,” arguing the change of use does not require express planning permission.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

The plans will be considered by county planners at a later date.