HILLINGDON UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN - London Borough ...

House Farm (Uxbridge). There is a variety of entertainment venues with the Beck Theatre (Hayes), Brunel
University and the Nave (Uxbridge) among the most popular.
12.6 Hillingdon's parks, woodlands and water help to create a pleasant and congenial environment
which the Council has enhanced and promoted primarily for the Borough's residents; although day visitors
from adjoining areas and occasionally from elsewhere can and do make use of them. However the Council
is aware that without appropriate checks and balances tourism promotion has potential disbenefits such as
communities being disrupted by the growth in the number of tourists and tourism-related projects, traffic
congestion, and the need to provide additional facilities which may potentially harm the amenities of an
area.
T1 THE COUNCIL WILL CONTINUE TO SAFEGUARD EXISTING AND ENCOURAGE
NEW TOURISM FACILITIES PROVIDED THEY CAN BE ACCOMMODATED WITHOUT
DETRIMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE BOROUGH.
Demand for Tourist Accommodation
12.7 Many activities draw investors and visitors to London. Arts, culture and entertainment are
activities for which London is well known and have potential for future growth. The metropolis has and
still does host the important conferences and exhibitions. Consequently London attracts about 17 million
visitors a year, of which ten million are from overseas (revised RPG3 1996). The London Tourism Impact
Study (commissioned by the London Tourist Board and LPAC) estimates that from an average of 22.8
million visitors during 1985, the numbers may increase to 26.2 million tourists per annum in the year 2000.
In 1985 there were over six million overnight staying business visitors originating from abroad as well as
from within the U.K. It is estimated that in the normal course of development and under existing policies
total hotel accommodation in London as a whole will grow by 5000 rooms by the year 2000 but it is
expected that this will not be sufficient to meet the estimated growth in the number of visitors.
12.8 Hillingdon, because of Heathrow and other locational characteristics, has made a contribution to
meeting the demands for serviced hotel accommodation and conference facilities for business visitors as
well as for the other tourists. The Borough will, after implementation of all outstanding permissions, have
around 7% of Greater London's available serviced bed spaces. The existing hotels on average achieve an
occupancy rate of around 90%. The hotels providing employment to the Borough's residents make a
significant contribution to Hillingdon's local economy. Hillingdon has good communications with Central
London but its distance from central facilities perhaps does not encourage longer staying tourists to make
the area's hotels their holiday base. Heathrow and with its airport oriented hotels apart, Hillingdon's strong
and diverse local economy continues to generate a demand for hotel and conference facilities in the
Borough. Therefore, the Local Planning Authority will continue to seek to meet demands for hotel
accommodation arising from local businesses as well.
T2 THE LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY WILL ENCOURAGE THE PROVISION OF A
RANGE OF ACCOMMODATION AND CONFERENCE FACILITIES ON SITES EASILY
ACCESSIBLE FROM HEATHROW AIRPORT, UNDERGROUND AND RAILWAY STATIONS
AND FROM THE MAIN ROAD NETWORK PROVIDED THE DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT
CONFLICT WITH THE AIM TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT.
12.9 Although the area on the north side of Bath Road has been identified as an area of mixed
development appropriate for location of hotels, it is now largely developed. Further sites throughout the
Borough which may meet the criteria of Policy T2 are limited and subject to the pressures of demands from
many other competing uses. Most open land is largely designated as Green Belt and in accordance with
policies elsewhere in this Plan will not be appropriate for hotel development. In order to safeguard the
stock of hotel accommodation planning permission will not normally be granted for full or partial changes
of use from hotels to other uses not directly related to the operation of the hotel. The measure is designed
to ensure adequate hotel provision to help the demand as well as to protect the Green Belt.
London Borough of Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan