VILLAGERS are angry at plans to more than double the size of a hotel in a picturesque corner of South Lakeland.

MacDonald Hotels, which owns The Swan Hotel, Grasmere, has applied to the Lake District National Park Authority for a major redevelopment which would expand the listed building from 38 bedrooms to 77.

But many residents feel the plans would be detrimental to the village and have taken their fight to the authority.

Bev Dennison, chairman of Grasmere Village Society, said: “This is over a 100 per cent increase in bedroom space. It is a massive, massive expansion with rooms and no public services at all. It is all moving the building away from a traditional coach house to nothing more than a roadhouse or a Travel Lodge.

“That is not conducive to what we feel the building is, nor what the village needs. They have taken a listed coaching inn, famous since William Wordsworth immortalised it, and the character will be lost. We held a public meeting and there was a unanimous feeling that it was unsuitable.”

The company also wants to extend its staff accommodation at Dunmail Cottage, Keswick Road, with seven new bedrooms, a staff lounge, kitchen and dining facilities.

Barbara Bate, who lives next to Dunmail Cottage, said: “There would be 13 people living next door and we are a retired couple. Many of the villagers feel the same. The plans are just too much for the village.

“At the moment we see lots of coaches come in and drop the tourists there. They go to bed and then leave early the next morning, so the village is not getting the benefit of their visit.”

The village society and other residents have written letters of objection to the planning authority, which will decide the application in January.

Nobody was available for comment from MacDonald Hotels today.