Hotel developers submit new plan

Quora is applying for permission to build nine residential dwellings with adjoining outdoor space, car parking and associated works on the Court Road car park, in Friars Walk.

While the site is not currently being used as a public car park, it was set to provide spaces for guests staying at the Premier Inn.

Residents have said if the proposed houses get the go ahead, parking will turn into a ‘nightmare’ as hotel guests will be forced to use car parking spaces popular with shoppers in the town.

Nicholas Johnson, of Vipers Wharf, commented on the application. He said: “There is a need for visitors to the proposed Premier Inn to park their cars and this area should be used for that purpose only.

“It is naive to think that people staying overnight will park their cars on the other side of town and carry their luggage to the hotel.

“If this plan goes ahead, hotel guests will inevitably park in the public car park, which is oversubscribed already by shoppers, who are the lifeblood of the town and should be encouraged.”

Residents of nearby Greyfriars Court and Leighside House have also objected to the plans as the proposed three-storey buildings would block out their light and obstruct their view of the South Downs.

The son of one resident in Leighside House said: “The residents are all quite elderly in the immediate area and have had put up with enough noise and disturbance for the past year, and its going to continue for at least another six to nine months as quoted by the Quora representative that came to visit the flats.”

Quora was contacted for a comment but at the time of going to press, had not yet provided a response.

Any comments must be made on the application by Monday, May 16.

To view the application, search SDNP/16/01618/FUL on the South Downs National Park Planning Authority’s website at www.southdowns.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications.

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