Southend: Roslin Hotel's £10m expansion approved

Plans for the four-star Roslin Beach Hotel in Thorpe Bay include part demolition of the hotel and three storey extensions with 60 more parking spaces and five new plush rooms.

Speaking on behalf of 80 residents at a Southend Council development control meeting on Wednesday, Mr Garlic said: “This application should have been rejected from the offset.

"It quite clearly has broken the most basic of planning rules, building past the front build line.

"This proposal, also builds past both side lines and covers over 50 per cent of the rear garden.

“With plot 9 Thorpe Esplanade, the application covers over 80 per cent of the entire plot.

"These facts alone should have stopped the application dead and saved the local residents much stress.

"At the moment 9 Thorpe Esplanade has a modest two storey bungalow, with one west facing balcony.

"With this application you will have twenty, first and second floor balconies overlooking adjacent properties and gardens.

"Much the same with Walton Road which has 11 east facing balconies.

"Another two storeys of possibly nightly noise pollution and disruption.”

Ward councillor Martin Terry said the Roslin was more than just a hotel, hosting weddings, function and beauty therapy and asked for the scheme to be deferred so an impact assessment could be carried out.

Fellow ward councillor Ron Woodley also had concerns about the removal of a tree and shrub border meant to act as a green barrier for neighbours would be taken away He also had concerns about a lack of parking.

Carole Mulroney, councilllor responsible for environment, culture, tourism and planning, said: “You never get a perfect planning application and sometimes things have to be weighed in the balance and I think this is an application which has some issues but has a lot more weighing on the benefit side for in terms of the local economy, employment and the Government and our own policy on supporting this type of application for what is a destination city."