The Dene Hotel’s proposal for new rooms was denied over privacy and parking issues
Chester: So, the Dene Hotel had this plan to tear down a garage and add some new rooms. They wanted to build a single-story extension with three extra rooms. Sounds good, right? But the council just shot it down.
The planning application was submitted last August, but this week, it got a big fat no. The council’s case officer, Jake Powell, pointed out some serious issues. First off, the distance between the new rooms and a nearby house just wasn’t enough.
Plus, there was a big concern about parking. They didn’t show how they’d handle the extra guests. And then there were the trees nearby that are protected. The hotel didn’t provide any info on how the new build would affect them.
Powell mentioned that the neighboring properties, especially Badgers Rake and The Cottage, were a big deal. Badgers Rake has a lot of windows facing the hotel, and while the new rooms wouldn’t block light, they were still too close for comfort.
As for The Cottage, the distance between their windows and the new units was way below the recommended 21 meters. It was only about 11-15 meters! That’s just not enough space for privacy, and it could really affect the folks living there.
Even though there’s some greenery between the two spots, it’s not a permanent solution. And with three new rooms, they needed to add three more parking spaces, but the hotel didn’t show any plans for that either.
Lastly, the trees in the area are a big deal since they’re in a Conservation Area. The hotel didn’t provide any assessments on how the new build would impact those trees. So, yeah, the council had a lot of reasons to say no.
