Appeal against refusal of plans for Falcon Manor Hotel, Settle (From Craven Herald)

Appeal against refusal of plans for Falcon Manor Hotel, Settle

10:00am Friday 11th January 2013 in News

The owners of Falcon Manor Hotel in Settle have appealed against the decision to refuse plans to convert it into apartments.

Remove Code Ltd had its plans to convert the grade two listed hotel into 10 residential units of between one and four bedrooms turned down by Craven District Council in October.

The company, which claimed at the time it had been forced to run the hotel as a bed and breakfast only because it had been unable to employ a full time chef, has now appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.

It added efforts to sell the hotel as a going concern had failed because of its size, the difficulty in adding major extensions because of its listing and because of the economic climate.

But the council’s planning committee, which had been recommended to refuse the application, said the loss of the hotel could have an adverse impact on the economy of the area and there was not enough evidence to suggest it had been sufficiently marketed.

The appeal will be decided by a government inspector following written representations between the council and the appellant.