winbar
14th November 2006, 11:47
They've been talking about this for a while, but from the local news:
Controversial plans for a major hotel expansion at Alton Towers are set to be given the go-ahead.The tourist attraction has submitted plans to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to create 36 luxury suites at the Alton Towers Hotel to meet increasing customer demand. The scheme will give the local economy a £3 million boost.
The new suites - which will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment including broadband connections, plasma screen television and games console - are aimed for the top end of both the visitor and corporate conference market.
With eight people per room, the move could bring an extra 288 visitors to the park each night.
Members of the district council's applications committee are expected to approve the plans for the four-storey building at a meeting on Thursday.
However, the move would involve the felling of 51 trees, which has sparked controversy among villagers.
Both Farley and Alton Parish Councils have objected to the extension and councillors at Farley said they feared it would a have a detrimental effect on local businesses. Twenty five letters of objection have been sent in by residents.
An average 5,000 vehicles travel to the theme park every day at peak season and Alton Parish Council said they would only support the application if Alton Towers gave a commitment to the long-awaited relief road to ease congestion in the village.
Alton parish council chairman Tony Moult said: "I don't think the extension will create much more traffic, but there is far too much already. It is intolerable. No major new developments at the park should even be considered until work begins on the access road."
Consultants claim that Alton Towers currently attracts £111 million worth of visitor spending in total, both on and off site.
It has invested £75 million of capital expenditure over the last five years, with £9 million per annum planned over the next five years.
Controversial plans for a major hotel expansion at Alton Towers are set to be given the go-ahead.The tourist attraction has submitted plans to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to create 36 luxury suites at the Alton Towers Hotel to meet increasing customer demand. The scheme will give the local economy a £3 million boost.
The new suites - which will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment including broadband connections, plasma screen television and games console - are aimed for the top end of both the visitor and corporate conference market.
With eight people per room, the move could bring an extra 288 visitors to the park each night.
Members of the district council's applications committee are expected to approve the plans for the four-storey building at a meeting on Thursday.
However, the move would involve the felling of 51 trees, which has sparked controversy among villagers.
Both Farley and Alton Parish Councils have objected to the extension and councillors at Farley said they feared it would a have a detrimental effect on local businesses. Twenty five letters of objection have been sent in by residents.
An average 5,000 vehicles travel to the theme park every day at peak season and Alton Parish Council said they would only support the application if Alton Towers gave a commitment to the long-awaited relief road to ease congestion in the village.
Alton parish council chairman Tony Moult said: "I don't think the extension will create much more traffic, but there is far too much already. It is intolerable. No major new developments at the park should even be considered until work begins on the access road."
Consultants claim that Alton Towers currently attracts £111 million worth of visitor spending in total, both on and off site.
It has invested £75 million of capital expenditure over the last five years, with £9 million per annum planned over the next five years.