A LARGE extension to a local hotel given the go-ahead by West Devon planners this week will generate new job opportunities and a potential boost in tourism in the area.

The application for an extension to provide 30 additional hotel bedrooms and a dining room extension at the Ashbury Hotel outside Okehampton was granted by five votes to four by borough councillors on the planning committee.

This was despite the recommendation by the planning officer to grant the request for the dining room extension, but refuse the application for the additional 30 rooms.

The additional bedrooms will allow the hotel to accommodate between 60 and 90 additional guests. Around 12 additional full-time positions would need to be filled, with the possibility for more, should the business continue to thrive.

Andrew Brint, co-manager of the hotel, was delighted with the news: 'Obviously we are all very pleased with the decision that came out of the meeting. It gives us an opportunity to expand the business, provide more employment in the area, and increased tourism will hopefully help stimulate the town economy too.

'Obviously, once the rooms are in place they won't all be filled immediately, so

the employment opportunities will be subject to the demand for rooms. But we are optimistic it won't take too long to fill these rooms and create more positions here.

'We all knew the application was a balancing act, but we felt that as an extension, rather than a new stand-alone structure, the right decision has been made.'

In her report, planning officer Anna Henderson-Smith said the proposed extension to the accommodation block would 'by reason of its form and location, be overly prominent in the landscape and visible from public viewpoints'.

'It has not

been adequately demonstrated that this harm could be mitigated by landscaping or that there was no other possible design or location for this accommodation,' she said.

West Devon Borough Council leader Cllr James McInnes told the planning committee the extension could be altered to be less visually intrusive. He said: 'I am very supportive of this large business, but the issue for me is the accommodation extension. I can fully understand the refusal recommended by the planning officer.

'There is an opportunity to have an extension, but I would think an L-shaped build would round off the resort in a better fashion.'

Cllr Philip Sanders, who voted against granting the extension, echoing Cllr McInnes' thoughts, said: 'I fully support the idea of business growth, but not this extension as it stands.

'Officers would be happy to support a more sympathetic view. We shouldn't have to sacrifice the visual impact to support the business.'

But Cllr Donald Horn said the extension was needed: 'I have always been told you don't get a lot of work from a small factory.

'For a business of this size there will be big buildings. For the business to succeed, if it needs another building, then that is what it needs.'

Cllr John Hockridge said: 'I would very much like to support the application. The hotel does have a serious visual impact on the landscape, but we have got to support this

for employment opportunities and the income it will bring into the Okehampton area.'

The hotel specialises in golfing holidays. They also offer a range of other indoor and outdoor sporting activities, including guided walks on Dartmoor, ten-pin bowling, snooker and tennis. They currently employ 335 people and have 186 rooms.

The extension will be the third and final part of the Moorview complex at the hotel.

Building work on the extension will begin later this month, with the main exterior work planned to be completed before February 10, 2012 — the start of the spring half-term school holiday.