Grade II listed Marlow building to be converted into hotel with bar

This is just one of the many applications submitted to Buckinghamshire Council for determination in the past seven days.

To view more details for each application, go to the council’s planning portal with the reference number attached.

A boutique hotel could be converted into a private residence at 17 Castle Street, Buckingham (23/00942/APP).

Stoneleigh House (Image: Google Maps)

The owner of the Stoneleigh House wants to convert it into a home after failed attempts to keep it going as a hotel.

The present owner bought the property in 2017 with a view to make it into a private residence, at a time when the previous owner had been running the property as a B&B.

The hotel rebranded itself as a boutique hotel when a friend offered to continue operating the property – but because of the Covid lockdown, there was a ‘deepening financial debt that continued to unsustainable levels, resulting it in its closure in October 2022.

The present owner can no longer occupy the property as a family home due to financial losses.

Planning officers are yet to decide on the application.

An office block that has a gym will be converted into a hotel at 65 High Street, Marlow (22/07460/FUL).

Drawings of the proposed guest house (Image: .)

The grade II listed two-storey building was given the go-ahead by planning officers for it to be converted into a five-bedroom guest house.

It also has a bar, restaurant, and kitchen on the ground floor and the five-beds and two functions on the first-floor.

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A new second-floor rear extension will replace the existing mansard roof to provide a further function room within the roof space.

The planning statement reads: “It is concluded that the new uses would support the function of Marlow Town Centre by sustaining and enhancing its vitality and viability, which is the objective of local and national policies, and the proposals would protect the special architectural and historic interest of the building.”

A tsunami of objections have been submitted over eight homes plan at Chequers Hill, Amersham (PL/22/1756/FA).

Layout of the proposed eight homes site (Image: .)

Several residents are resisting a scheme that could see eight semi-detached homes, all of which hold two-bedrooms and two parking bays each, built on land to the rear of 37-47 Chequers Hill.

This will involve demolishing Sovereign Heights to create a new access to the site.

Locals had serious concerns over the development’s impact on the character of the area, parking, the loss of wildlife habitats, and the loss of privacy and light.

One resident was also worried that the development could make the ‘hazardous’ junction even more dangerous. They added: “The junction at the top of First Avenue is a regular hot spot with near misses happening with alarming regularity. The proposed development would exacerbate this issue considerably.

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“The footpath that runs from West Acres to Quarrendon Road is used daily by a large number of school children of all ages.”

Other residents were unhappy over the land being cleared to enable the development if permission is granted, adding that this has resulted in a loss of habitat for roosting bats and badgers.

“The proposed development will cram eight houses into a plot of land that previously formed the gardens for 6 houses,” one resident said. “This is not in keeping with the rest of the neighbourhood and will negatively impact it for this reason.”

The objections even prompted Bucks council leader Martin Tett and Cllr Rachel Matthews to ‘call in’ the application for members sitting on the relevant planning committee to decide on its fate if officers were minded to approve.

A decision is yet to be made.