Supporting documents - Renfrewshire Council

PROPOSED PREMIER INN HOTEL AND 

BEEFEATER RESTAURANT 

AT ARKLESTON ROAD, RENFREW 

AMENDED APPLICATION BY 

WHITBREAD GROUP PLC 

FOR THE ERECTION OF HOTEL AND RESTAURANT 

ADDENDUM TO PLANNING STATEMENT 

March 2010

1.0 

1.1 

1.2 

INTRODUCTION 

This addendum to the Planning Statement submitted with the Planning 

Application No. 09/0249/PP, has been prepared following a meeting held at 

Renfrewshire Council Offices on 18 August 2009. The meeting was 

convened following receipt of a letter from the Head of Planning at 

Renfrewshire Council dated 17 June 2009. The letter raised a number of 

concerns of the Council in respect of the planning application, both matters of 

principle and of detail. The meeting on 18 August 2009 dealt mainly with the 

broad issues of the principle of the development because it was the 

applicant’s view that, if it is not possible to gain the Officer’s support on the 

principle of the development, there is no point in instructing further surveys 

and reports on detailed issues for, even if these were considered acceptable, 

the development may still fail on policy grounds. 

As a result of the meeting and work undertaken by the client’s project team 

since that time, the scheme has been amended. This Addendum to the 

Planning Statement, therefore, both explains and outlines the proposed 

amended scheme and seeks to address issues discussed at the August 

meeting. 

2 

Walsingham Planning, Brandon House, King Street, 

Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6DX 

March 2010

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2.2 

AMENDED PROPOSED SCHEME 

The proposed scheme has been amended from that submitted as part of the 

planning application and the following amended plans are submitted:- 

1133(-)001 Proposed Site Plan 

1133(-)002 Proposed Ground Floor Plan 

1133(-)003 Proposed First Floor Plan 

1133(-)004 Proposed Second Floor Plan 

1133(-)005 Proposed Roof Plan 

1133(-)006 Proposed South West and North East Elevations 

1133(-)007 Proposed South East and North West Elevations 

1133(-)008 Proposed 3D Images 

1133(-)009 3D Images 

1133(L-)001 Location Plan and Aerial View of the Site 

1133L(-)002 Existing Site and Proposed Sections 

1133L(-)003 Existing Site Sections Indicative 3D Images 

1:1250 Location Plan (Red Edged) 

The application site has been reduced in area and now avoids any 

infringement of the existing David Lloyd Leisure Centre car park. This 

simplifies the proposed development considerably. It avoids any conflict with, 

or loss of car parking spaces from, the David Lloyd Leisure site – the DLL site 

will continue to operate as existing. Whilst the application site is altered from 

that originally submitted, it is reduced in area rather than the application site 

being increased. The applicants 3 



March 2010

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2.4 

trust that this will mean that the submitted application can merely be amended 

rather than a whole new application being required. 

The proposed development now incorporates a 46 bedroom hotel with 91 car 

parking spaces. The application as previously submitted involved a hotel with 

64 beds and 105 spaces so the scheme has been reduced by 18 bedrooms 

and 14 car parking spaces. The scheme retains the existing landscaping 

around the principal boundaries of the site and avoids development on the 

area of marsh orchids immediately to the right of the access. Additional 

landscaping will be provided. The size of the restaurant is consequently 

reduced to 340m 2 of public floor area – the internal layout of the restaurant 

and the number of covers shown on the layout plans is for indicative 

purposes. This is referred to in more detail further on in this report. 

The proposed design has been amended to provide a modern “statement” 

building which will enhance the appearance of the area and provide an 

improved frontage to the DLL site, shielding the Leisure Club building. 

Further information relating to design can be found later in this report. The 

application drawings also include topographical details, levels information and 

cross-sections of the existing site and with the proposed building marked on. 

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March 2010

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3.2 

LOCATION OF THE APPLICATION SITE – POLICY IB11 

With respect to the location of the application site, outside the defined town 

centre area, officers’ attention is drawn to Section 5 of the submitted Planning 

Statement which contains considerable information on this matter. In 

addition, Section 5 of the Transport Statement, dealing with the access of the 

site by sustainable modes, is also of particular relevance. 

At the August meeting, officers’ asked for additional information in respect of 

a key Local Plan Policy IB11. This Policy deals with hotels, guesthouses and 

bed and breakfast accommodation and sets out a number of criteria which a 

proposal for a new hotel has to meet. These criteria are considered in the 

following paragraphs of this report. 

(a) Assistance to Business and Tourism 

Whilst the site is not located within the Airport Campus or Hillington 

Industrial Estate, it is well related to both these areas and will serve both 

business travellers and tourists. During the week, it is likely that the hotel 

will be primarily used by business people using the airport or visiting 

companies and sites within the area. Given the site’s location in relation 

to the airport, the proposed hotel will also be a valuable facility for 

travellers and holiday makers as well as providing an ideal base for those 

visiting the Paisley area and 5 



March 2010

(b) 

the wider Glasgow region. On these grounds, it is considered that 

criterion (a) of Policy IB11 is satisfied. 

Amenity, Highways and Parking Arrangements and Noise 

The amenity of the area will be visually enhanced by the proposed 

development. There will be no adverse effect to any adjoining 

development. 

The Transport Statement prepared by Dennis Wilson Partnership, 

considers the original proposed development in detail and concluded that 

there was no adverse effect in terms of traffic and parking. The Council’s 

Transportation Section had no objections to the original scheme, 

although suggested a condition relating to parking at the DLL site be 

provided. A further statement has been prepared by DWP in respect of 

the amended scheme now submitted and is attached to this Planning 

Statement. The reduced scheme, involving a smaller number of rooms 

and reduced floor space will consequently have less impact on the 

surrounding roads and access points in terms of traffic generation. 

There is an appropriate number of car parking spaces proposed for the 

size of the development and there will be no impact on the DLL car park. 

In terms of traffic/parking and in respect of highway matters, the 

proposed development complies with criterion (b). 

In respect of noise, the proposed use is not a noise generating one. 

There should be no effect on the surrounding residents as most people 

using the car park will be staying in the hotel which will mean that there 

will be no late night noise from people leaving the premises. In terms of 

motorway/airport noise to hotel guests, I can advise that all the rooms will 

be at least double-glazed which will limit or remove any disturbance from 

outside noise. All Premier Inn sites are well managed, 24 hours a day 

and Premier Inn offer a “guaranteed good night’s sleep” or guests qualify 

for a complete refund. Moreover, the building has been sited to comply 

with the Council policy of having no building within 35 metres of the 

adjoining motorway. Criterion 6 



March 2010

(c) 

(d) 

(b) is therefore complied with in terms of noise. 

Design to be appropriate and in keeping with the area and surrounding 

development 

The design of the proposed hotel was discussed at the meeting with the 

planning officers in August. The amended design has been prepared on 

the basis of those discussions and in the light of subsequent 

correspondence with the Case Officer. The amended building is of a 

high quality, striking modern design which will make a statement within 

the area whilst respecting surrounding development. The proposed 

building is two-three storeys in height with a mixture of external materials, 

including painted render and coloured cladding which gives interest and 

articulation to the building. The roofs are a mixture of flat and inverted 

pitch (butterfly) profiles. It is understood that the planners’ preference 

was for flat roofs but for construction and maintenance reasons it has not 

been possible to have a flat roof across all parts of the building. 

Furthermore, the proposed roof plan will allow plant and equipment to be 

hidden from view and, particularly relevant given the location of the site 

in close proximity to the airport, may serve to discourage birds 

congregating on the roof. 

The proposed design achieves the aims of Policy IB11 by being 

appropriate and respecting the surrounding development. 

The development should be located on or easily accessible from a 

distributor road 

The officer’s attention is drawn to paragraph 2.1 of the Planning 

Statement submitted with the application which discusses the location of 

the site and section 2.3 of the Transport Statement. The site is located 

on the A741, Arkleston Road, less than one mile from Junction 27 of the 

M8 Motorway. It is well located in terms of the road network in this part 

of the borough and it is therefore considered that criterion (d) is met. 

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March 2010

3.3 

(e) 

Location with respect to town centres, airports and major 

business/industrial development areas 

This criterion requires large hotels to be located within or adjacent to 

town centres; within the Airport Campus or in association with major 

businesses or industrial development areas. (Our emphasis) 

Firstly, the applicant would challenge whether this is a large hotel in the 

normal sense of the term. This is a budget hotel comprising of beds and 

restaurant which provides breakfast and meals to customers. There are 

no conference or leisure facilities provided as part of the proposed 

development – facilities which are normally to be found in large hotels. 

Moreover, the hotel now comprises 30% fewer beds than originally 

proposed and is therefore smaller in size than the original scheme. The 

application site is not located within a town centre but is very well located 

with respect to the Airport and nearby business park. Section 5 of the 

Planning Statement submitted with the application, considered the 

location of the site in some detail. It is contended that the application site 

is located “in association with major business or industrial development 

areas” and therefore meets the requirements of criterion (e). 

Officers are respectfully reminded that compliance with planning policy is 

only the start of the assessment of any planning application and that 

officers are required to also consider material considerations. It is the 

applicant’s contention that the site is located between the key areas of 

the airport and the business park and will serve all areas extremely well 

and is closer to these areas than the centre of Paisley. Moreover, with 

respect to sequential site selection, Local Authorities are reminded in 

paragraph 16 of SPP8 to adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach in 

terms of their assessment of proposed development. 

Overall, the proposed development complies with Policy IB11 in all respects 

and that, when taken with the other material considerations relating to 

application, it represents an 8 



March 2010

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4.2 

4.3 

acceptable form of development in this location and is in line with the aims of 

both national and local policy. This is particularly the case given the reduced 

nature of the development now proposed. 

RAISON D’ETRE FOR SITE SELECTION 

Until 2008 David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) was owned by Whitbread and formed 

part of Whitbread Group Plc (the applicants of the current application). In 

February 2008, the DLL Group was sold off in a deal which related to the 

disposal of all DLL sites. At the Renfrew site, and a small number of other 

sites, Whitbread reserved the right to acquire, for a small nominal fee, an area 

within the DLL site for the building of one of its Premier Inns. The application 

site will be formerly acquired by Whitbread according to the Agreement 

between the company and DLL, subject to planning permission being granted. 

DLL are fully supportive of the proposal to build a Premier Inn on the 

application site, which currently comprises an unused part of the DLL site. 

Officers referred at the August meeting to some perceived allegation that 

there had been previous “plans” for a hotel in this location. The reference to 

this may have been derived from paragraph 3.4 of the Planning Statement 

submitted with the application. The applicants confirm that the “plans” 

represented the company’s intention rather than any formal plan or planning 

application in respect of a hotel on this site. 

Whitbread recognises the potential for a further Premier Inn in the Paisley 

area. Demand for beds is strong 9 



March 2010

4.4 

4.5 

5.0 

5.1 

(even in these difficult economic times) and demand at the two existing 

Premier Inn hotels (at Phoenix Retail Park and at Glasgow Airport) 

demonstrate the potential for a further hotel in the Paisley area. Whitbread is 

keen to develop the potential of the area through the development of a further 

hotel, and is particularly mindful of the ongoing development at Hillington 

Business Park and planned development at Glasgow Airport including the 

terminal extension as part of the overall Master Plan for the Airport. 

The company does not have the potential to acquire ownership of any other 

site for a nominal fee as is the case in terms of the application site. There is 

no room for further expansion of the Glasgow Airport Premier Inn or the 

Glasgow Paisley Premier Inn at Phoenix Park. Those are the only two Premier 

Inns in the Renfrewshire Council area. 

The company has no intention of acquiring a site elsewhere in the area for a 

46 bed hotel (see Section 5 below) because the acquisition costs of a new 

site would be prohibitive in terms of the development of a budget hotel of this 

size. All Premier Inn sites are required to be financially viable on their own 

merits and, if costs of land acquisitions have to be factored into the 

development of a 46 bed hotel (as in the case of the application site), this 

would render the whole development unviable. If planning permission is not 

forthcoming on this site, the opportunity for the development of a new hotel in 

the Paisley area will not be realised and the potential investment in terms of 

money and jobs will be lost to the area. The option to acquire this land to 

enable the development of Premier Inn at this site expires in mid-2010, after 

which the opportunity may well be lost forever. 

ALTERNATIVE SITES 

Council officers suggested, at the August meeting, that as an alternative to 

development of the application site Whitbread, should consider the purchase 

of an alternative site elsewhere, either in the defined town centre or an 

existing vacant hotel. For the reasons outlined above, Whitbread have no 

intention of acquiring a new site elsewhere in the area for the building of a 46 

bed hotel when they have the 10 



March 2010

5.1.1 

5.1.2 

option to purchase the application site for a peppercorn amount as part of the 

DLL Agreement. However, for the purpose of this report, and to assist 

officers in the deliberations of this application, two alternative sites in the 

areas have been considered, as suggested by the officers. 

Former Arnotts Site 

This is a large site (3.92 acres) in the centre of Paisley, including a local 

landmark building – the previous Arnotts department store. An outline 

planning application ( reference number 09/0528 EP) has been approved for 

a food store, retail and residential, with associated car parking involving part 

conversion of the Arnotts building and part new-build as a major regeneration 

scheme. The site is now under offer to a developer with the contract 

expected to be signed imminently. It is understood that the residential 

element of the scheme is on hold because of current market conditions and it 

is possible that the planning permission may be amended, or a new planning 

application submitted, to include offices within the scheme. 

This is a complicated site which will involve lengthy negotiations and 

discussions on the details of the scheme and there is no planning consent for 

a hotel as part of this development. There would be considerable acquisition 

costs or on-going leasehold costs and this, coupled with the constraints and 

complexity of the development, would render the site of no interest to 

Whitbread for a 46 bed Premier Inn. 

The Purple Hotel, Renfrew Road, King’s Inch Drive, Renfrew 

This is a recently built hotel, which it is understood, is vacant and unused. It 

is situated about 2 miles from the application site just off Junction 26 of the 

M8. The acquisition costs coupled with operational doubts as to whether it 

would “fit” the Premier Inn brand in terms of room sixes, restaurant etc., would 

mean that it is not viable for Whitbread to consider pursuing interest in this 

property. Moreover, its location outside the town centre, adjacent to a 

motorway junction, is comparable with that of the application site. 

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March 2010

6.0 

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7.2 

RESTAURANT 

The amended scheme proposes a much smaller development with bed 

numbers now proposed at 46 (previously 64); reduced car parking numbers; 

and a reduction in the size of the restaurant. The amended ground floor 

layout plan shows a suggested layout of the restaurant with covers included 

for illustrative purposes only. The officers expressed concern at the meeting 

in August that the restaurant would become a destination in its own right and 

thereby attracting customers and car borne traffic away from the town centre. 

The amended scheme reduces the number of indicative covers to below 150. 

It should be remembered that the maximum occupancy of the restaurant is 

never likely to be near its capacity – for example, hotel guests travelling alone, 

are likely to occupy a table for two to four people when dining. Not every 4 

seated table will have 4 people sitting at it. 

The restaurant is ancillary to the main use of the site as the hotel. While the 

restaurant is open to the public, it is likely that the majority of users will be 

staying in the hotel, other than a few local people who may well walk to the 

site. It is considered that it is unlikely that the restaurant would ever be a 

major attraction in its own right and it will have no material impact on the town 

centre restaurants. 

CONCLUSION 

The plans submitted with this Statement, as an amendment to the submitted 

application, show a smaller application site and incorporate a reduction in 

the number of bedrooms proposed, size of the restaurant and car parking 

spaces. The amended scheme has no impact on the existing David Lloyd 

Leisure site and is satisfactory from a highways point of view and in respect 

of car parking standards. 

It is considered that the proposed development accords in all respects with 

Policy IB11 of the Local Plan in that it will assist business and tourism; it will 

not be detrimental to the local 12 



March 2010

7.3 

7.4 

area in terms of traffic, parking, noise generation or amenity; the design of 

the new buildings is appropriate and in keeping with the character of the 

surrounding area; the development is located on or in close proximity to a 

distributor road; and it is located in association with the airport and a major 

business or industrial development area. 

Whitbread’s agreement to purchase the site for a nominal amount means 

that this is the only site of interest to the company in terms of developing a 

budget hotel of this size in the Paisley area. Factoring in acquisition costs of 

any other site would mean that any such scheme would be rendered 

unviable. Alternative sites such as the Arnotts site in the centre of Paisley, 

or the Purple Hotel are not an option for the company to pursue because 

they would involve acquisition costs and because of the constraints of these 

site or buildings. 

The applicants respectfully urge the Council to give positive consideration to 

this additional information and be mindful of the material considerations of 

the application and the positive benefits this proposed development could 

bring to the area in terms of financial investment, jobs and an attractive 

facility for business users and tourists. 

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March 2010

Supporting documents - Renfrewshire Council

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