R&A backs hotelier for 2013 Open at Muirfield
New accommodation at a North Berwick hotel, given the planning go-ahead this week, will be taken over by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for the British Open at Muirfield, Gullane, in 2013.
Local hotelier Stirling Stewart relayed the news to councillors during a debate on his plan for seven additional twin and double bedrooms in the back yard of the Harbour Hotel in Quality Street.
He received the thumbs up from the planning committee to construct a new building to be used as either two units of self catering accommodation or as more bedrooms for the hotel — despite 27 objections from protesters who were angry about the "detrimental effect" on town centre car parking.
Brian Stalker, development control manager, recommended that permission be refused for parking reasons.
Standard
He explained that currently there were seven off-street parking spaces for the hotel and this would be reduced to three.
The council's car parking standard was 18, he added.
Mr Stalker said: "The transportation division advise that such shortfall in off- street car parking provision cannot be compensated for by parking within the adjacent Imperial Car Park as parking there is already at a premium."
Mr Stewart said rebranding the hotel as "No 12" and putting in a cafe/bar had been popular with day visitors, guests and locals alike.
Facilities
He explained: "I have worked closely with the council's economic development unit to improve No 12 Quality Street and it is now graded as a three star restaurant with rooms with the overall percentage score of 71 per cent — the equivalent of a four star grading."
He circulated a letter from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, saying it was "impressed" by the quality and standard of the facilities at No 12 and his other business, the Nether Abbey Hotel, also in North Berwick.
Mr Stewart added: "They have booked both premises for the forthcoming British Open Championship at Muirfield in 2013 and would also like to book the seven rooms which I have applied to build.
Accommodation
"It is indeed a vindication of many years of hard work and considerable financial investment that an organisation as prestigious worldwide as the Royal and Ancient has recognised the standards of service and accommodation that both properties have to offer.
"Clearly if East Lothian wants to attract world class events, it requires world class accommodation along with its world class golf facilities of which we book hundreds of tee times annually for our visitors from all over the world."
"I have acknowledged the parking problems in North Berwick but I would strongly refute the claim that this will add to the parking problems. No.12 had three spaces as part of the back area which was used as a drying green by the prevous owner.
Full report in East Lothian News, May 8, 2009 We took down the fence and there are now seven spaces which lie unused throughout the day and it is rarely full at night. The majority of guests do not arrive by car and many fly to Scotland or come by train. No. 12 backs on to the Imperial car park which can be busy but it does have over 70 spaces. The Gardener’s Garden car park is approxmiately 100 metres from the back door of No.12 and has over 80 spaces and lies virtually empty every night even in the height of season.”
Just one councillor, local member David Berry, voted against the plan which also attracted a protest petition signed by 43 residents including those in Melbourne Place.
He explained that it would exacerbate the parking problem in North Berwick and “disadvantage” residents who lived in the area and found it difficult to park their cars as well as visitors who went elsewhere because they could not get parked.
“This application made no effort to solve its share of the parking problem,” he added.
Councillor Stuart MacKinnon said hotel beds in the county had “diminished greatly” in recent years and this balance now needed to be redressed.
He commented: “Parking is clearly an issue, I am not going to deny that, but I don’t feel that by refusing this application we are going to solve North Berwick’s parking issues nor by granting it are we going to blight it any further.
“The issue of parking is something for another place perhaps and something we need to look at.”
He added: “The Open is coming to Muirfield. This is something we can look forward to and we need to start preparing for it, and I feel this is the first step.”
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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