Crooklands Hotel: Planning Success

HPA are pleased to announce the successful Planning Application for enhancements to the Crooklands Hotel site in Cumbria. The proposal includes the rationalisation of the car park, providing an extension to the beer garden and installation of glamping pods/garden suites to act as additional accommodation within the grounds of the property. This will largely utilise reclaimed land which currently forms part of the carpark.

The Crooklands Hotel:

The three-star hotel with a restaurant, rooms, and pub, is in the hamlet of Crooklands, near Kendal. The original hotel building fronting the A65 is a historic coaching inn, however the building has been extended in several phases over the years. To the east the site is bordered by the Peasey Beck, a water course which runs from Killington Lake, providing water supply to Lancaster Canal.

In 2020, the hotel was bought by the Vincent family and since then it has been extensively refurbished and refitted. As a continuation of the refurbishment programme the hotel commissioned HPA to assist with the proposals to the external areas of the site. The proposed scheme will enable the successful rural business to continue to thrive allowing the business to better meet current demands.

Glamping Pods & Gardens:

The demand for bedrooms in the Inn is high and a series of options to expand accommodation were explored. Given the existing layout of the hotel, it is difficult to extend the current building without losing existing rooms, thus making an extension unviable.

This proposal plans to install 5 high quality garden suite glamping pods, allowing the hotel to expand above 31 rooms. These suites offer a more flexible Aparthotel style accommodation which differs from current accommodation in the existing building. Three garden suite pods will be more suited to families.

The modest development of locally constructed pods will be highly energy efficient and provide a high-quality accommodation. Walls will be clad in Larch or Cedar and a sedum roof will help he pods to site well within the rural landscape and garden. The units will be screened with an attractive landscaping scheme, looking away from the main road and towards the Peasley Beck and open countryside.

Whilst some of the hotel site sits within Flood Zones 2 and 3, the area of proposed works will be outside of the Peasley Beck flood zone. For avoidance of doubt, a full Flood Risk Assessment of the site was commissioned to look at the wider site holistically.

Proposed alterations to the car park will release an area to become additional garden space for the use of the garden suites, in addition to providing an opportunity to double the area of the beer garden. The beer garden is a popular area of the hotel, particularly with customers preferring to eat or drink outside.

Car Park Re-model:

The current car park has been extended on an organic basis over time and is poorly laid out. The spaces are not marked, and the width of the parking lanes do not correlate to vehicle widths and the normal standards for car parks. As a result, it has been poorly utilised and inefficient.

By realigning and altering the car park, it is possible to create a circular route, delivering 72 spaces. The calculation included standard spaces shown at 2.5m centres (wider than the current 2.4m), the provision of parent and child and accessible parking and EV charging spaces. The proposal layout also allows for deliveries, bicycle storage and pull in spaces to accommodate the rare occurrence of a coach.

By utilising a permeable surface (such as geogrid) to reduce hardstanding, the proposal will reduce the amount of impermeable surfacing in the car park by 37%, improving drainage significantly. The scheme will see the replanting of a significant amount of new tress and hedgerow, as a visual amenity improvement and provide biodiversity improvements. Trees and landscaping are to be used as a key element in the design to improve the aesthetic and the visual appearance of the site from the A65, creating a more welcoming presence.

HPA have unlocked a significant planning impediment, the results can now benefit the hotel and guests, as well as the wider of the Crooklands area.

See blog post about Planning Appeal success at Helm Mount Farm.

Read more about the curiosity of outdoor spaces and other flexible solutions for creating outdoor accommodation – PlusPods: Outdoor Living Spaces.