Lymm Hotel saved from demolition as apartments plan for site refused

The Lymm Hotel had faced demolition as part of proposals to build 36 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom retirement apartments for the over 55s on the Whitbarrow Road site, as well as a 72-bed nursing home and a nursery with places for 120 children.

But around 200 residents submitted written objections to the scheme, with many expressing concerns over the mooted development's parking provision.

Only 74 car parking spaces had been earmarked for the redeveloped site.

Lymm Parish Council had also objected to the plans, stating that the scheme was 'overdeveloped, overbearing, poorly designed and detrimental to heritage'.

The Lymm Hotel hosted Pele and the Brazilian football team during the 1966 World Cup.

Developers had claimed that the 62-room hotel was 'not viable' and had 'little in the way of heritage value'.

But Warrington Borough Council refused the application for planning permission on Friday, April 20, on the grounds of highway safety and the development being 'obtrusive and overbearing'.

In its objection, the council said: "The proposal would be detrimental to highway safety in relation to a lack of parking, lack of servicing and lack of quality infrastructure for sustainable transport modes.

"It is considered that the scale of development proposed and its height would mean that it would be prominent, obtrusive and overbearing, and would fail to reinforce local distinctiveness and fail to enhance the character, appearance and function of the street scene.

"The proposed retirement apartments - as a result of their siting, scale, mass and height - would have an overbearing impact on the gardens and properties to the south of the site given it comes with 5m and 15m of the southern site boundary, thereby failing to respect the living conditions of nearby residential occupiers and undermining residential amenity."

Concerns were also raised by the council over protected trees and a bat roost on the site.