Residents raise concerns about riverside hotel plans

The four star hotel is planned for a riverside location in Staines

Residents in a riverside town have raised concerns about plans for a four star waterfront hotel.

Arora Group was awarded the contract to redevelop the Bridge Street Car Park and Hanover House sites in Staines-upon-Thames in 2020.

A residents' organisation is calling for public consultation to be "more than a 'sales pitch’" and has raised concerns about the size and design of the planned hotel.

Arora Group has been contacted for comment.

Plans include 300 bedrooms, including serviced apartments, spa and leisure facilities and events spaces as well as residential apartments.

A spokesperson for the Riverside Residents (Staines) Coalition: “It was a matter of great concern that the presentation of the currently proposed hotel made no mention at all of the site’s location in the Conservation Area, arguably the most sensitive site in the town currently earmarked for development.”

The group raised concerns about the flooding risk in the town, about which the Environment Agency previously warned the borough council over its planning for new homes.

The residents' coalition also said the height, size and design of the hotel caused concern.

At the time the contract was awarded, Arora said in a statement that the £182m gross development value of the site would "be a massive economic boost for Spelthorne’s main town".

The company said it would create more than 350 new jobs and "be a catalyst for the wider planned regeneration of the town".

Arora Group is owned by businessman and Conservative Party donor Surinder Arora.

In March the council's planning committee approved an extension that had been built without permission at the group's Fairmont Windsor Park Hotel.

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