Southwell hotel can serve food to twice as many guests

A boutique hotel in Southwell that is proving to be a successful wedding venue has had its planning consent relaxed to allow it to serve meals to more guests.

The owners of The Old Vicarage boutique hotel, Westgate, sought permission from Newark and Sherwood District Council to vary a condition of their existing consent, granted in 2009, to allow only 30 covers for dinners at any one time.

The condition was originally imposed in the interest of neighbours.

The vice-chairman of the district council’s planning committee, Mr Paul Handley, who represents Southwell, said conversations with the authority’s environmental health team revealed little of concern regarding the hotel’s operation.

The planning application sought to double the number of covers to 60 — the same number that the hotel’s ceremonies licence allows. No increase in the venue size was proposed.

The hotel also sought permission for 29 carpark spaces, which was applied for retrospectively, as was a request for decking and a hot tub area.

Committee member Mrs Penny Rainbow, who is a also local member for Southwell, said: “You cannot really invite 60 people to a wedding and say 30 cannot eat. We want to attract people to Southwell.”

The application was approved unanimously with certain conditions.

These included that the restaurant and coffee shop was open only to hotel residents between midnight and 8am, food would not be consumed on the outside decking area from 7pm to 7am, and that the restaurant would not provide more than 60 covers for dinner at any one time within a 24-hour period.