PLANS to build four detached suites with hot tubs at a four-star hotel in the Lake District have been turned down.

The Lake District National Park Authority has refused plans from English Lakes Hotels for the construction of four detached suites on the grounds of Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa complex off Ambleside Road, near Windermere.

The decision notice states: “The development fails to reflect local character and distinctiveness and does not conserve and enhance the character and quality of the local landscape. The development results in harm to the visual amenity of residents and visitors, including in views from the surrounding public rights of way network.

“The proposal results in harm to the Outstanding Universal Value of the English Lake District World Heritage Site; and harm to the special qualities of the National Park, including the diverse landscape and the celebrated social and cultural heritage of the National Park, including non-designated assets recorded on the Historic Environment Record. There are no public benefits of sufficient weight to outweigh this harm.”

According to the planning statement each suite would have featured an entrance room, bedroom and bathroom, together with an external covered terrace, which will include a private hot tub.

The suites would have feature the amenities that would be expected in a hotel suite and guests staying in the suites would have had full access to all the hotel facilities.

The planning statement states: “The applicant provides a significant amount of employment in the local area and therefore makes a substantial contribution to the local economy. The proposed development will add to the range of accommodation that is available to guests, thus enhancing the applicant’s offer.

“This will enable them to continue attracting visitors to the area, which helps to deliver a prosperous economy.”

In planning documents, the hotel admitted that small areas of the current ecological landscape would be lost but the plans would provide an opportunity to enhance the ecological value of the site, they said.

The planning statement says: “A small area of marshy grassland will be lost to facilitate the development – this is mitigated by the creation of additional marshy grassland elsewhere on the site.

“Green roofs are also proposed on the detached suites, which provides a further opportunity for species enhancement. Existing mature trees will be retained, with appropriate protection put in place during construction. The scheme does require the removal of a limited number of younger trees, but this will be mitigated through a significant amount of tree and shrub planting.”

The Lakes Parish Council objected to the plans as they say the proposed suites are ‘inappropriate’ for the location.

The parish council state: “The units will have an unacceptable impact on the amenity of the footpath as it will change the feel and experience from walking in woodland to the introduction of visitors which brings with it extra noise, disturbances, light pollution and negative impact on the local wildlife.

“The units are completely separate from the main hotel, further overdeveloping the blueprint of the grounds, and in an area that is currently green, open nature and natural. This proposal doesn’t conserve or enhance this location. We feel that it is an inappropriate level of use to the location and doesn’t relate well to the main hotel.”

The Lake District National Park Authority refused the planning application on February 9.