Following on from their original planning application submitted in July, Alton Towers Resort have today submitted a number of amendments to their original plans in a refinement to the plans previously submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.
Amendments have been made to both the internal layout and exterior layout of the proposed Hotel expansion and new restaurant. The most noticeable changes to the interior of the building are to the restaurant and café and bar area. Changes have been made to layout of the main restaurant with a larger snack and salad bar, a change in design of the hot food buffet area, and an additional partition in the seating area. The kitchen area has also been extended and will now be directly accessible from the restaurant and plans also show two pizza ovens in the kitchen area. Plans now describe the restaurant as a ‘hybrid restaurant’ suggesting it will now serve food in a buffet style for breakfast and then operate a waiter service for lunch and dinner similar to ‘The Secret Garden Restaurant’ in the current Alton Towers Hotel. A large children’s seating area facing a stage is now indicated opposite the café and bar suggesting the proposed expansion will have a focus on providing a range of entertainment. There have also been changes to the shape of the bar counter in the café and bar area so it now wraps around the wall on the far side as you enter the area. Two additional bedrooms are also indicated on the ground floor which would mean an increase in the number of new rooms the expansion would create from 74 to 76.
On the exterior of the expansion the roundabout at the far end of the new car parking area has now been removed in order to create an additional 10 parking spaces, taking the total available to 98. A range of changes to the landscaping of the gardens are also proposed, with the bank leading to the sunken garden area now becoming less steep and using smaller rocks to create the border of the bank onto a slightly increased porous block paved area. The fence surrounding the spa’s outdoor area which leads to the relocated sauna have been slightly lowered, whilst shrubbery has been added against the side visible from the pathways heading towards the entrance to the extension to help conceal it. Slight changes have also been made to the Spa roof with the former proposed dormer window now being replaced by a rooflight, with two additional rooflights on the other side of the roof.
These latest plans represent a further development of the resort’s strategy to encourage more multi-day short breaks and would be the second major development of the accommodation offering following the addition of the Enchanted Village earlier this year. The plans are currently in the consultation phase which has seen the plans receive no objections from Alton Parish Council and are expected to be considered in due course at one of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s regular planning committee meetings.
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