Plans for a six-storey hotel at Orchard Park have approved by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning committee.

Councillors at the committee’s February 14 meeting voted 10-1 to approve TLC Group’s plans for the scheme across two parcels of land in Topper Street. The hotel will be a mix of 137 standard hotel rooms and 80 apart-hotel flats.

A restaurant, bar, café, gym and swimming pool are included in the hotel, along with a co-working area, two conference rooms and individual meeting rooms, available to hire.

It will have a 178-space basement car park and 124 visitor cycle parking spaces. However, there were concerns raised at the meeting about whether the parking would be sufficient. Councillors argued that the hotel parking was for the guests staying overnight and more would be needed for the daytime amenities such as the swimming pool and gym which are available to the punblic.

Colin Brown, planning partner for Carter Jonas, representing the developer, said there would be no objection to CIL money funding double yellow lines around the area.

He told the meeting the scheme had been through two pre-application meetings, three sessions with the council’s design review panel and two rounds of detailed community consultation.

Locals in the new homes at Orchard Park, he said, would be able to use the hotel’s eating and leisure facilities.

He added: “This is a high-quality scheme. It has been arrived at following extensive collaboration with officers. We are confident it will provide an attractive destination and focal point at Orchard Park.”

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