New plans revealed to demolish Exmouth's Devoncourt Hotel

Application 22/1910/MFUL will involve demolishing of Devoncourt building and outbuildings and in its place building 51 open market and 15 affordable residential apartments and new 65 bed hotel at Devoncourt Hotel 16 Douglas Avenue Exmouth Devon.

Access to this new hotel will be via Maer Lane car park, with parking available in the car park. The proposals are to demolish the existing structures and replace these with a combination of apartments and a hotel within the grounds of the Devoncourt.

The apartments will be on the north and south side of the site, and the hotel behind Maer Lane car park.

Vehicular access serving the proposed apartments will remain off Douglas Avenue. The proposed hotel provides for 65 beds, which is more than the site at the moment which has 54 beds.

The application says: "This is in line with the EDDC requirement that the tourist accommodation offer of the site should not be reduced. The solution put forward within this planning application is a viable option for the site and offers an increase in the tourist accommodation for holiday use on the site.

"The timeshare business was a privately run facility for owners only and we feel that the proposed hotel provides more inclusive holiday accommodation, which is in tune with current demands and expectations.

"The proposal has been designed to avoid overlooking or overshadowing of adjacent properties. Careful consideration has been given to minimizing any negative impact on the privacy, right to daylight and amenity space of these properties."

Owners of the timeshare on Devoncourt ran out in 2014, and the owners are now looking at other options for the site.

The application has already had 172 comments from residents, 170 of these are opposing the plans on the EDDC planning portal.

The application has been submitted to East Devon District Council, where officers will review the plans and approve or refuse them.