downsmail.co.uk
Houses planned for site of ‘unviable hotel’
A VICTORIAN building in Pe- nenden Heath currently used as a hotel could be demolished and re- placed by 14 detached houses. The 42-room Russell Hotel, on the
corner of Boxley Road and Chatten- den Court, which is owned by the BestWestern Hotels group, is unvi- able and “has no genuine chance of survival”, according to applicant Clarendon Homes. The developer points out that
since 2000, three major hotels have opened in the Maidstone area – Vil- lage Hotel (122 rooms), Premier Inn (100 rooms) and the Travelodge (111 rooms) – and a 150-room hotel has been granted planning permission at Eclipse Park. During the same period, some of
the town’s older, smaller hotels have closed, including Stone Court Hotel (16 rooms) and 77 Boxley RoadB&B (six rooms). “The combined impact of these
major chain hotels moving into the town centre has been visible in the fall in occupancy at the Russell Hotel,” a supporting statement said.
The building became a hotel in the
1970s after previously housing The Sacred Heart convent and school. It is thought that east London gang- sters Ronald and Reggie Cray once had a financial interest in the hotel, where their mother Violet some- times stayed when she visited Reg- gie in Maidstone Prison. The Russell is graded as a three-
The Russell Hotel, Boxley Road “The long-term trend shows that
the existing owners are consistently failing to make a profit. The busi- ness can no longer continue to com- pete with the larger hotels. “The large scale growth has ren-
dered the Russell Hotel surplus to requirement and without a reason- able chance of recovery in the mod- ern market. Despite the best efforts of the owners, the hotel has no gen- uine prospect of survival. “The business in its current guise
is unviable and the costs of exten- sion and renovation are prohibitive. The business is unsustainable and therefore appropriate redevelop- ment is required.”
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star hotel with facilities including conferencing and banqueting suites, landscaped gardens and parking. The supporting statement added:
“The site is on a prominent corner but offers no great contribution to the appearance of the area. “The hotel is the only commercial building in the vicinity, suggesting the land use is now inappropriate. The area is entirely residential, so the replacement of the hotel with housing must be considered as the most appropriate use of the land.” The planning application, which
will be determined by Maidstone Council, calls for the creation of three three-bed, nine four-bed and two five-bed houses.
News More PCSOs
join the force FIFTEEN new police community support officers (PCSOs) have been welcomed into the force by the Kent Police and Crime Commis- sioner, Ann Barnes, and the county’s Deputy Chief Constable, Paul Brandon. Apassing-out parade at Kent Po-
liceHQin Sutton Road, Maidstone, marked the successful completion of the officers’ initial training. The new PCSOs will serve com- munities across Kent, including manning the mobile police stations, which were one of the commis- sioner’s manifesto promises to boost visible community policing. Mrs Barnes said: “The force’s in-
vestment in these new officers is moneywell spent.”
Power point
AN electric vehicle charging point could be installed at the service sta- tion off M20 Junction 8, near Hollingbourne. Maidstone Council will decide whether to allow the implementa- tion of the quick-charging unit, one of 150 planned throughout the UK in the next 18 months. Locations will include major re-
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