£8.5m plans for new hotel and housing are submitted for Sandilands

The new owners of The Grange and Links Hotel, Tim Cross and business partner Deborah Brown, have submitted detailed plans to East Lindsey District Council after saying they saw ‘huge potential’ for the business.

They add the project will bring Sandilands back to life.

The ambitious scheme comes a year after a previous owner’s outline application for a £3m expansion and renovation of the original hotel was rejected by the district council’s planning committee following strong opposition from residents in the area.

As part of the sale agreement of the hotel from the previous owner, Mr Cross and Ms Brown confirmed they have already lodged an appeal against that rejection.

If the couple’s new detailed application is rejected but they win the appeal, it would still enable them to develop the rear of the site with housing. However, they would still need full planning permission.

Mr Cross told the Leader: “Our initial idea was to renovate the old hotel but we soon realised it would be cheaper in the long run to completely flatten it and start afresh.

“We want to build a destination hotel that will bring people in from far and wide.

“If passed (planning permission), it would be an amazing establishment for Sandilands and bring extra employment into the area.”

The proposed plans include a new £4.5m hotel featuring 20 bedrooms on the first floor with balconies, space for at least one function room which would be underground and a cafe/bistro and spa complex with a swimming pool on the ground floor.

There is also room for 74 parking spaces - increasing the current figure by 54.

They also plan to keep one of the original tennis courts at the side of the hotel.

Mr Cross says that a retail unit space would be situated adjacent to the hotel. The unit could house a shop, post office and space for a new business on the ground floor.

On the top floor, there would be room for 12 holiday apartments.

In addition, there are further plans to build 20 flood-safe houses: a mixture of 12 affordable terraced houses, four detached houses and four semi-detached.

These would be sited at the back of the hotel and, with added landscaping, would not overlook neighbouring properties.

Mr Cross admitted the houses were key to the entire project as the sale of them would help fund the development of the new hotel.

He said a Section 106 agreement could be put in place to ensure the housing would not be completed before the hotel is fully operational.

Mr Cross added: “We need to make this project as sustainable as possible so we want to capture rainwater in tanks to be used elsewhere, put in photovoltaic panels on the roofs of all properties and use geothermal energy from the ground.”

Mr Cross has been involved in development projects all of his working life and lived in Australia for ten years.

He says the plans for the hotel have an ‘Australian influence’ in the design and added it will be ‘unique development for a unique area’.

He added: “I’m really proud of what we are trying to do and hope to get the local residents on side.

“We want to put Sandilands on the map. I can’t believe it isn’t already.

“The scheme will certainly be a one-off not seen anywhere in this country before.”

The plans are expected to appear before the planning committee in July.

If passed, Mr Cross said the scheme would take around 12-18 months to complete and added the plans would include additions as the on-going building work takes place.