London Golf Club gains consent for five star hotel

The development, on a green field site in the Kent countryside, is expected to be on a par with other leading golf facilities in Europe and assist the Club with attracting international tournaments to build on the success of its hosting of the European Open in 2010 and 2011.
 
The site is located within the Green Belt and Mackenzie Wheeler’s design concept successfully addressed the need to minimise intrusion to the existing golf course and landscape, as well as impact on the skyline. The proposed hotel is set within the slope, and the massing has been broken down to achieve a ‘village’ feel in scale as well as in style, within the Kent vernacular.
 
Duncan Mackenzie of Mackenzie Wheeler explained the practice’s approach:
 
“We knew from the outset that it would be inappropriate to adopt a conventional approach to the design of a hotel in this location. It was also important to take advantage of the natural contours of the site. We have therefore broken down the building mass more usually associated with a hotel guest wing so that there are smaller units, each orientated slightly differently to its neighbour to provide an uninterrupted view of the surrounding landscape, with roofs at different heights. This creates the ‘village’ feel and building materials will enhance the overall effect.”
 
The total floorspace of the development is 18,306sqm and to meet with contemporary and international guest expectations, the hotel will include:
 
·         Dining options and speciality restaurant
·         Meeting and banqueting accommodation
·         A luxury spa facility
·         Butler floor service to suites
·         Valet parking
·         Landscaped gardens
 
Austen Gravestock, General Manager said:
 
“An on-site hotel is an essential prerequisite to the London Golf Club becoming one of the premier golfing venues within England and Europe. However, providing one in this beautiful Green Belt location was always going to be a challenge. Mackenzie Wheeler’s solution was to design a scheme which looks more like a Kent village than a hotel, and has the minimum visual impact on the surrounding countryside.”
 
Planning consultants dha planning led the application and preliminary landscape works are now being considered, prior to establishing the hotel build programme.