Hotel demolition plan is thrown out

PLANNING chiefs at Warrington have thrown out a housing scheme that would involve the demolition of a three-star country house hotel standing in its own wooded grounds.
Members of the borough council’s development management committee voted unanimously to refuse proposals for 36 new homes on the site of the Rhinewood Country House Hotel in Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook.
The decision delighted local councillor Paul Bretherton and chairman of Residents Action Group Peter Fillery, who had both opposed the scheme.
Cllr Bretherton said: “The committee were rightly concerned over the lack of public transport links, the fact that the nearest amenities were nearly four miles away in Culcheth and that the three storey apartments would be completely unsuitable for a village like Glazebrook.
“We are thrilled for residents who would have been adversely affected if this had been approved.”
The Rhinewood Hotel was originally built as a vicarage and dates from the late 18th century. But it has been completely rebuilt and for years has operated as a modern hotel and restaurant catering for leisure and business clients, weddings and other functions.
Objectors argued that if the hotel was not proving profitable, it would be more suitable for conversion to an old folks’ home or convalescent home – either of which would provide jobs for local people.
There are also objections on the grounds of traffic problems, loss of trees, and impact on the openness of the Green Belt.
Planning officers recommended the scheme be approved, however.
They said the new development would have 292 sq metres less floor area than the existing hotel and would be restricted to parts of the site already developed, so would have no greater impact on the Green Belt than the hotel.
Pictured: The hotel, as it was several years ago.