AN INQUIRY will be held as developers attempt to overturn the refusal of major plans to redevelop a hotel site on Poole Quay.

The proposal for 228 flats in four blocks, a new 118-bed hotel and a raft of other commercial units was rejected by BCP Council’s planning committee in October last year.

After assessing its options for the Thistle Hotel site, firm MHA Burleigh Poole launched an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Interested parties have been asked to submit their representations, with a Government-appointed planning inspector due to oversee an inquiry hearing on June 7.

The application, which would see the demolition of the existing hotel, had been recommended for approval by BCP Council officers, but planning committee members went against this decision with concerns it would be out of keeping with the conservation area.

They objected to the height and bulk of some of the buildings, the fact there was no affordable housing in the scheme and claimed the re-worked site would bring extra traffic problems to the area as well as overshadow existing housing.

The appellant has said that none of the reasons for refusal are “reasonable or justified”.

A statement of the appeal case submitted on behalf of MHA Burleigh Poole by chartered surveyor Montagu Evans, said: “The appeal scheme has evolved as a result of extensive pre-application engagement with a number of key stakeholders.

“It would bring forward a number of benefits for not only Poole Town Centre, but the wider borough including the delivery of a new high quality residential accommodation, new visitor accommodation and commercial floorspace alongside substantial public realm enhancement including along the southern boundary of the site adjacent to the Quay.”

Bournemouth Echo: A CGI of the proposed redevelopment of the Thistle Hotel site on Poole Quay

More than 200 objections were lodged against the planning application. This included the Poole Quays Forum group and ward councillor Mark Howell, who has submitted a fresh opposition statement as part of the appeal process.

BCP Council’s statement of case said: “Overall, it is considered that the Appeal Scheme represents an inappropriate design, scale and layout that pays insufficient heed to the physical and planning context of the site, in a manner that is harmful to the character and appearance of the area and the significance of the conservation area within which the site sits.”

As reported, the Thistle Hotel was rebranded Poole Quay Hotel earlier this year after a change of ownership.