Social media users have been reacting after plans to expand The Royal Hotel were approved by North Somerset Council.
The grade-II listed hotel, in Weston’s South Parade, will create a 72-room extension – adjacent to Spider Lane and the recently-revamped Winter Gardens – and an underground car park.
The plans, which were altered after public criticism, won favour from the council’s planning officers, who granted planning permission on May 23.
Hotel director Jonathan Cooke said: “This is brilliant news for us and it is fantastic news for Weston because it is up and coming now, and growing.
“The look of the hotel will be better from the seafront, because they will be looking at a lawn rather than cars on the road.”
Mr Cooke added the hotel’s plans tie in with the council’s Italian Gardens project, as the regeneration of the town centre gathers pace.
North Somerset councillor John Crockford-Hawley said: “I consider this hotel’s development to be a tangible example of Weston regeneration.
“There will of course be some people who prefer to see no change whatsoever but in order to prosper there must be change.”
Many people took to social media to share their view on the plans.
Ashley Leahy wrote: “This will help smarten up the seafront, create more jobs and create smart, modern and clean hotel rooms for visitors.”
Tracy Bernard commented: “This really lacks style, especially sitting right next to the Winter Gardens and the original hotel itself. An underground car park is great, as is making Spider Lane wider, but there must be architects with more vision than this?”
Sue Malcolm wrote: “It looks awful. The Royal Hotel has been there for years and it is a nice place, but this will just spoil a lovely hotel.”
Jo Norcombe commented: “It’s OK expanding the hotel but people need things to do when they get here.”
Mark Wilfan said: “It looks cracking. It will be an engineering challenge to build an underground car park so close to the sea but it will be great if they pull it off.”
New artist’s impressions of the proposed building have been released and will be published in tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) Weston Mercury.
To join the discussion, visit www.facebook.com/wsmercury or www.twitter.com/wsmercury
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