DEVELOPER Philip Oram has dropped his appeal against the council’s decision not to let him build a 110-bedroom hotel in Bournemouth called ‘Aurora’.

Hermitage Hotel owner Mr Oram, right, was contesting the planning committee’s decision over his proposals for the Punshon Church site, opposite the BIC, in Exeter Road.

He was due an appeal hearing tomorrow, but told the Echo that after discussions with the council he will now submit new plans.

The six to seven-storey-high hotel development would have been worth £9m and included nine luxury flats, three retails units, and a possible casino.

However, Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association said it could lead to an oversupply of accommodation and Bournemouth Civic Society likened the plan to “university halls of residence in the 1960s.”