AMBITIOUS plans for a £2million housing development to ‘save’ The Georgian Hotel have divided the town.

Full consent is sought for the renovation of Haslemere’s historic grade II listed High Street building, funded by changing the use of 33 hotel bedrooms in a linked modern extension, to a block of 16 flats – plus the erection of three mews cottages on the overflow car park.

Mark McVeigh, one of a consortium of five local supporters who rescued the hotel from administration last August, has warned the future of the business depends on the community backing the new scheme, which would see the historic original building become a 12-bedroom upmarket ‘boutique’ hotel and restaurant.

The Georgian has gone into administration twice in three years. Mr McVeigh said: “Despite its location, the hotel has been struggling to operate a viable business n its current form.

“The long-term future of the building, in particular its continued operation as a hotel, is reliant upon a revitalised offer being made.”

Fellow consortium member Richard Angel attended a Haslemere Town Council planning meeting in March seeking support for the plans, but the council has sent a list of objections to the scheme to Waverley Borough Council, which will determine the plans.

The town council objected that the new access proposed from the High Street would have a ‘negative effect’ on Haslemere’s landmark ancient chestnut tree. There would also be a substantial loss of parking if the mews houses were built on the overflow car park.

It said the 40 spaces provided were insufficient for guests and hotel users, and claimed the town would be harmed by the loss of a function room. Overall the plan were an overdevelopment of the site, it said.

Councillor Melanie Odell voiced concern, following Mr Angel’s presentations of the plans, about the function room no longer existing if the application succeeded, leaving the restaurant used exclusively for functions.

Haslemere Society vice-chairman John Greer also attended the town council planning committee and spoke about the group’s fight to save the the hotel from developers 20 years ago.

The society has not yet responded to the application but Mr Greer told councillors it had concerns about the financial viability of a 12-bedroom hotel and the consortium’s ability to run the business.

He was also unhappy about the timing of the hotel refurbishment – after the demolition and residential redevelopment works – and the loss of parking on site given the shortage of spaces on the High Street.

Ex-society president Robert Serman also spoke, voicing his concern the owners were selling prime assets to fund the refurbishment.

Mr Greer told the committee: “The primary interest and objective of the socety is to ensure the viable long-term continuation of an upgraded Georgian Hotel, restaurant and public function facility.

“This was our objective 20 years ago when we engaged counsel, commissioned a viability report and worked hard, with a lot of public support to overcome strenuous efforts by a developer to convert the Georgian to a block of flats.

“We were given to understand the new owners provided the only prospect of the continuation of a hotel and restaurant on this site.

“However, we have since learned from our investigations at least two hotel groups were prepared to buy the hotel and restaurant and upgrade and operate these without recourse to any residential development.

“Once the existing 33 bedrooms have been converted into private flats there will be no going back.

“If the small 12-bedroom hotel proves not to be economically viable, a new operator will not want to buy a hotel encumbered with so much private development and with no scope for constructing more hotel rooms and parking spaces.

“This would not be good for the town. Nothing is agreed and nothing is likely to be agreed with any external management organisation without a planning approval in place.

“Even then, it is not certain satisfactory management arrangements can be put in place to achieve a successful long-term future for the Georgian Hotel. This poses a big risk for the town with the possible loss of all the hotel-related facilities.”

Many people have also written to Waverley urging it to support of the scheme.

Former mayor Fay Foster, who fought to prevent the site being turned into flats in the 1990s, said: “The new consortium of owners have done their sums and realise, in its present layout, it is no longer viable.

“With the public car park just behind the hotel, the new dwellings should not create too much of a problem.

“Many older residents are sole occupants of large or medium-sized family houses and would like to down-size to somewhere that is convenient to the shops and other amenities.

“They will then release useful family homes onto the market. The Georgian is in the ideal situation and the hotel, with its important position on the High Street, could still be retained.

“If this application is refused and the hotel is no longer viable, it is likely the owners will resort to the 1998 position and convert the hotel and build blocks of flats in the gardens.

“This would be disastrous as there is no other venue to take the place of The Georgian.”