D-Day approaches for controversial hotel plans
Developers take appeal against planners' refusal to public inquiry
CRUNCH time for controversial plans for a budget hotel on Hungerford's Charnham Street is approaching.
The Secretary of State for the Environment has announced that a public inquiry into West Berkshire Council planners' rejection of the proposals has been set for Tuesday, June 14.
The proposal is for the development of a hotel providing up to 65 bedrooms, an ancillary restaurant and associated works including car parking, landscaping and new access from the A4 on land adjacent to the Herongate Leisure Centre at Charnham Park.
The refusal was made in July 2010 on the grounds that the hotel would be contrary to the designated use for the land set out in the Local Plan and also that the applicants had failed to mitigate the impact that new hotel employees would have on local amenities.
Hungerford Town Council objected to the proposal on the grounds that it was contrary to local policy, the design was poor and the designated land use was not intended for a hotel.
Town and Manor Trustees also objected on the grounds of the likely adverse impact on existing local hotels, light pollution plus potential drainage and ecological problems.
Constable of the Town and Manor of Hungerford, Greg Furr, sent a subsequent letter of objection in February expressing “extreme concern” about light pollution and claimed the building would not be in keeping with the character of the town.
Applicants Kerridge Properties Ltd have engaged legal counsel and will argue that the council “has inconsistently applied” its regulations.
Among the residents to have lodged formal objections are David and Anne Baden who state the structure would “wholly unsympathetic to our town and create an uninviting impression to anyone approaching Hungerford via the A4 and considering visiting.”
They also warn it could have “devastating consequences” for existing hotels in the area.
Dr James Barnett stated: “A new hotel of this size affects the whole town. If, as a result, either of the existing high street hotels ‘go under,' the effect on the town would be dramatic.”
Margaret Hodges warned that “the charm of Hungerford is bound up in an atmoshphere of living history,” and branded the plans “architechturally uninspired.”
Some other correspondents warn of traffic problems were the scheme to go ahead and Colin Heaney of The bear Hotel, Hungerford, warned it would be an “eyesore” that would deter potential visitors to Hungerford.
However the agent for the application, David Murray-Cox of The Barton Wilmore Partnership, said that the design of the hotel was the “correct approach” to building modern structures in historic towns such as Hungerford.
The three-storey hotel would be an L-shaped block, set further back from the A4 than the existing Undys Cottage, which lies just to the west of the site, with a 65-space car park behind the building.
The public inquiry will be held at 10am in West Berkshire Council's offices in Market Street, Newbury.
It is expected to last two days.
