Revised plan for new hotel
Plans for a six-storey city centre hotel have been resubmitted by a developer whose previous attempt was described as architecturally “scandalous”. Plans for a 202-bed hotel in Bath were thrown out because of the “scandalous” standard of the architecture and the impact it would have on the conservation area. Now Dominvs Group, which acquired Bath College’s Allen Building in James Street West last year, has come back with a revised application for the site. The number of bedrooms has been cut to 198, the building height has been reduced by 1.4 metres and the zinc colour has been lightened. If given the go-ahead on its second attempt, Dominvs Group says the “lifestyle” hotel would have a contemporary design, create 98 jobs and boost the local economy by £4.1million. The Allen Building would be demolished to make way for the development. Bath and North East Somerset Council threw out the previous application because the scale, height and design “failed to preserve or enhance the conservation area”. Since the refusal, the applicant worked to address the concerns. The revised plans say: “The proposed high quality scheme is a modern contemporary building and is entirely appropriate to its 20th and 21st century site context. “Whilst the previous scheme had an officer recommendation for approval - but was refused at development management committee the applicant has positively responded with design amendments following ongoing discussions with members, Bath Preservation Trust and officers.” The original application was met with strong opposition from residents and groups including the Bath Preservation Trust, the Federation of Bath Resident Associations and Bath Independent Guesthouse Association, as well as Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, regarding the ongoing uncontrolled expansion in tourist accommodation. The application quoted figures saying another 1,000 bedrooms are needed by 2029 but hoteliers claimed the assessment was based on flawed data. The Dominvs Group commissioned research of its own on Bath’s current tourism and hotel market to assess the suitability of the site. It found that there is a “strong opportunity for further hotel development in Bath”, there is a “shortage of large, full-service and internationally branded hotels”, and despite Brexit people will continue to come to the city. The research also found that demand had increased by 20 per cent from June 2017 to June 2018. B&NES Council will decide the fate of the revised application.