Dover hotel plan is slammed by town council
by Graham
Tutthill
gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk
Town councillors are objecting
strongly to plans to build a hotel, restaurants, bars and a mast as
part of the Dover Town Investment Zone development at Woolcomber
Street.
The application, due to be discussed
by district councillors at their meeting on Thursday, covers
part of the Russell Street car park, behind the Townwall Street
service station, and land fronting Woolcomber Street and the vacant
corner with Townwall Street.
Councillors are being told that the
scheme has been submitted ahead of the rest of the DTIZ proposals
because a tenant is ready to run the four-storey hotel, which will
have 108 bedrooms.
There will be a restaurant and bars on
the ground floor.
The 35-metre high mast, which will
accommodate the telecommunicatrions equipment currently on the top
of Burlington House, will also have an LED display screen -
measuring 2.7 by 10 metres - which will be used for commercial
purposes as well as local tourist information.
But the scheme has been slammed by
Dover town councillors who say the design is not in keeping with
the area and is not distinctive for the town. They particularly
object to the LED screen.
The district council has received
eight letters of objection which also oppose the mast and screen,
claiming it could distract drivers, and saying the hotel design is
"poor" and does not have the necessary character to appear as a
landmark structure in the regeneration of Dover.
Members of the planning committee are
being told that from street level, the mast should have a "clean,
sharp finish" that would look like render. It is not felt that the
height of the mast would appear unduly prominent.
23/03/12
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