PLANS have been approved to extend The Ashbury Hotel near Okehampton to provide 29 new guest bedrooms. The scheme was supported by West Devon Borough Council's planning committee last week but there were claims that the development, which is one of the area's largest employers, was growing in a 'piecemeal' fashion without regard for design and sustainability. Last year, the applicant was granted three planning permissions, two of which were to provide additional accommodation of 66 bedrooms. Local resident Victoria Spence raised objections over light pollution, saying there was an orange glow at night which could be seen over a large distance. She also said: 'When will Ashbury Hotel be complete? She asked. 'How many more bedrooms will they want?' Cllr Mandy Govier said there needed to be a holistic approach to developments like this and planners should be finding out from applicants what they envisaged for their site. She said: 'We had three applications last year alone — it is very piecemeal.' Cllr Dennis Bater said it was often the way businesses developed and he felt the application should be supported. 'It's a massive complex and this area is known throughout the world through this development.'
