A NEW use has been found for one of a group of dilapidated buildings just off the Chesil Beach on Portland.

Many of the former cottages and workspaces at Entry, Brandy Row, dating back to the 17th century, have been empty for years.

Now a planning consent has been granted to re-roof one of the buildings and reinstate an entrance door and side window. Access to the site is via a  narrow passageway which runs off the southern end of Brandy Row.

Mr Ian Stone, who lives in Chiswell, has been granted planning permission for the work which will see the building used as a fisherman’s store for lobster and crab pots during the winter and nets and ropes throughout the year.

The development includes reinstating the lean to roof with the external finish in corrugated galvanised steel sheeting with two corrugated translucent roof lights and the installation of a new timber door and side window in the  existing wall openings.

The building is owned by Dorset Council and falls within the Underhill Conservation Area and Chesil and Fleet Special Area of Conservation.

Portland Town Council supported the application which was unanimously approved by the Western and Southern Area Planning Committee.

Said a council report on the application: “The proposals are considered to be an enhancement to the existing building and would potentially bring the site back into a viable employment use that is in harmony with its coastal setting.”