‘MULTI-LEVEL’ hot tubs with views over the North Sea could be offered to guests at a Dunbar hotel.
Sections of the Bayswell Park Hotel would be demolished to make way for an extension with 15 bedrooms, nine having hot tubs.
Plans to revamp the hotel, including hot tub suites in a new building between the hotel and the cliffs to the north, were first revealed in the summer of 2020.
Those have now been shelved, with revamped proposals now submitted to East Lothian Council showing the hot tubs stacked on each of the floors of a proposed three-storey flat-roofed extension to the eastern side of the main hotel building.
If approved by planners, the new addition would replace the hotel’s existing two-storey and single-storey extensions.
According to a planning statement: “This will accommodate a total of 15 new bedroom suites, nine of which will be hot tub suites, which have proven to be extremely popular, attracting guests to Dunbar from all over Scotland and the north of England.”
The hotel already has four ground-floor hot tubs for guests.
A single-storey glass-fronted extension to the existing restaurant on the north side of the hotel (see image bottom left) would also be created under the plans from the applicant, hotel owner Mr Simon Flame.
Jacquie Bell, secretary of Dunbar Community Council, noted that there had been concerns about the previous proposals.
READ MORE: Hot tub suites looking out to the sea among new plans for hotel
The community group has also objected to the new proposals, despite recognising “the need for quality hotel accommodation in the town which will bring forward employment opportunities”.
Concerns include that the “mixture of finishes of differing textures and colours is out of keeping” with the surrounding buildings, as well as that the extension would be “prominent and visible and detract from the amenity of the John Muir Way”.
Mrs Bell recognised the “investment in tourist infrastructure” but that was balanced up with concerns, including additional traffic on the road, lack of on-street parking and whether the plans fitted in with the town’s conservation area.
Planning permission was given in November 2020 for another development, which included second-floor accommodation on the east extension.
That has now been ruled out as it is “incapable of accommodating the quality of suites which today’s market demands”.
The proposals could be discussed at the community council’s next meeting on Monday, May 16.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here