A multi-million pound upgrade of a tidal island hotel off the south Devon coastline, where famous figures such as Agatha Christie and The Beatles have stayed, has been approved.
The west wing of the art deco Burgh Island Hotel is set to be extended to accommodate 12 new en-suite bedrooms, in the first major development on the site since 1934 - five years after the hotel was originally built.
The grade II-listed hotel’s Nettlefold bar will also be extended to host events, while a spa facility will be installed on the ground floor.
The historic Pilchard Inn pub, which also forms part of the estate on the private island, will also receive a single-story restaurant extension to increase the number of covers.
A new restaurant in Bigbury Village, offering views out to the hotel and the sea, will also be built, with a retractable terrace roof in order to stay open all year round.
The hotel’s tennis courts will be repurposed for new staff accommodation in an “earth shelter” building. The staff rooms within the hotel will also be renovated, while the Korniloff care home in Bigbury-on-Sea on the mainland has also been acquired by the hotel’s owners to house its staff.
Some £3m of work has already been completed on the hotel over the past four years. The latest project has now been approved by South Hams District Council’s development management committee, and will be completed over 10 years.
Owner Giles Fuchs said the development would help provide the “best possible experience for its guests” and “life-long” employment opportunities to local residents. Mr Fuchs added the hotel’s “unique” heritage and architecture would be protected.
District councillor Bernard Taylor said: “I would like to congratulate the officers who dealt with this application. It is a sympathetic development that fits not just to the hotel but also the island. It is an iconic building and we need to keep it running.”
Cllr Mark Long added: “This area of South Hams has lost too many of its hotel. Overall we need to protect the viability of operations and support uses that provide local employment.”
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