Plans for Peak aparthotel set to be rejected despite support
PLANS for an aparthotel on the outskirts of one of the Peak District’s most popular areas are set to be rejected.
A proposal to build 13 self-catering units in the form of an aparthotel for people holidaying in the Peaks at Deepdale Business Park, on the outskirts of Bakewell, has been recommended for refusal.
This recommendation comes despite support from key figures in the local hospitality and tourism sector. Planning officers at the Peak District National Park Authority have highlighted how the site, off the A6 north of Bakewell, has been allocated for office, industrial, storage or distribution use only and that there is no policy justification to change the use of the plot to allow the aparthotel to be built.
The scheme had received support from Jo Dilley, the managing director of Visit Peak District and Derbyshire. Of the plans, Ms Dilley said: “This proposal clearly meets the needs of families and visitors looking for short breaks and holidays with Bakewell and Ashford in the Water having very little accommodation of this style.”
In her letter of support, Ms Dilley states that since 2019, serviced bedspaces like the one proposed have declined in Derbyshire by 1,200. She said that the plans would offer an alternative to the “growing pressures” of second homes and shortterm lets.
Rob Hattersley, owner of independent hospitality business, Longbow Bars and Restaurants, who owns several hospitality businesses in Derbyshire, said that he can only see the project as a “benefit” for the area.
Mr Hattersley is a tenant at Deepdale and the development would sit directly adjacent to his offices. He added: “I still see this as an improvement to the site, utilising land, that is currently barren and wasted. This proposal suits the type of building/ operation, I would relish the opportunity to operate. Further hospitality expansion comes with extended employment opportunities.”
The plans did receive one objection from Amanda Brown. She said: “The proposal for substantial accommodation for the visitor economy is detrimental to the wider business sector in the Derbyshire Dales. The Business Park has been eroded through the change of use and reduced access to office space and workspace will potentially weaken the economic base in the area.”
A final decision is expected at a planning meeting on April 19, but the plans have been recommended for refusal by a planning officer based on four points of issue with the proposal. The points raised are:
The development would result in the loss of a site allocated and safeguarded for employment use.
The proposed development amounts to new build holiday accommodation which is contrary to the core strategy policy.
The proposed design while reflecting nearby buildings would not deliver high quality design or the highest possible standards of carbon reductions and water efficiency in order to mitigate the causes of climate change.
There has been insufficient information submitted with the application to demonstrate that surface water from the development would incorporate a satisfactory sustainable drainage system.
The full plans can be viewed on the online planning portal using reference NP/DDD/1223/1530.