Harlaxton Estates submit plans to Newark and Sherwood District Council for a 102-bed Holiday Inn Express in Farndon

Controversial plans for a hotel-led development that would bring up to 400 jobs have been submitted for approval.

Developers have spent around £200,000 developing proposals for the site, between the new and old A46 at Farndon, ahead of its submission to Newark and Sherwood District Council addressing concerns raised at the public consultation phase.

But Farndon Parish Council says it has a David and Goliath battle on their hands.

Harlaxton Estates wants to build a 102-bedroom hotel for Holiday Inn Express on the site in what is described as a statement development that will put the region on the map.

The managing director of Harlaxton Estates, Steve Hampson, said: "This is a very exciting development and must be the largest level of private investment and job creation here in recent years.

"If it isn't successful in gaining planning permission, I can see Newark falling by the wayside behind Grantham and Lincoln.

"I am born and bred in Newark and while I have developments in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, it will always be my chosen desire to invest here.

"We have four developments in Newark we have undertaken that have all brought new jobs, investment and prosperity or regeneration to the town."

The £13m scheme also includes large office accommodation, a filling station, ­— operated by the Blakemore Group, operators of Spar ­— which won't cater for HGVs.

Mr Hampson said there was firm interest from a European company providing fast charging for electric cars, while the other will be a coffee shop.

He said if planning were to be granted, builders could be on site immediately with a completion date for the whole scheme of late 2020.

The chairman of Farndon Parish Council, Mr Mick Baker said: "This will cause uproar in the village.

"When the district council asked for environmental impact comments there were 50 in two hours. As a parish council, we are 100% against it.

"We have a David and Goliath battle on our hands, but, as we know, David won."

Mr Hampson said since the public consultation, the plans had evolved to address the concerns raised.

Re-evaluation had included the revisiting of other sites in the area, but these had been ruled out because of issues such as visibility, connectivity, or a lack of infrastructure or services.

"This is a tenant-led proposal more than a developer," he said. "Sometimes you only get one chance with an operator.

"We spent the majority of 2018 in looking to overcome all of the potential site issues ­— traffic, archaeology, flooding, ecology and environmental," he said.

"We have listened to public opinion and moved away from any drive-thru food opportunity and one of the units would be purely coffee.

"We are in the advanced stages of negotiation with a European company offering fast-charging for cars who want to set up a UK network and this would be one of the first locations outside London, which would add to the vision I have for making Newark a destination.

"We have strong interest in 75% of the space we would build, either from local businesses who want to expand and stay in the area or regional businesses who want to base their operations here.

"The hotel for me is the big one. Newark doesn't have a top quality hotel, not just serving business, but tourism.

"There would be a limited food offering at the hotel with the aim of people then having to visit the shops, pubs and restaurants of Farndon and Newark."

Mr Hampson said that although the site was floodplain, a mitigation strategy was in place, and traffic flow had also been investigated.

"Our modelling shows the majority of the issues are just on a Friday afternoon now, just the same as most large road networks in the UK," he said.

"I am hoping that delivery of this scheme will mirror the construction of the Southern Relief Road, which will alleviate some of the traffic issues round Newark while we are awaiting funding for the dualling of the A46 bypass."

Mr Hampson said there would be facilities for the Farndon community as part of the development.

There will also be overnight parking for coaches. The land, owned by the Hardy family, is secured and access would be from the old A46.

Mr Baker said: "If it goes ahead it will take villagers ages just to get out over the roundabout. We will be trapped.

"There will be 300 office workers all coming and leaving and they need to park. I have data that says there is 1.5m sq ft of empty office space in Newark.

"Official figures from Highways England from January 1 to the end of May show 1,100 vehicle movements on average around that roundabout an hour.

"We have only seen a draft flood mitigation plan but that is an area of concern.

"I also question the need for an electric charging point. In Rushcliffe, there are plans at Stragglethorpe for a Spar, Costa Coffee, Greggs, garage and eight to ten charging points. Why do you need another 15 miles down the road?"

The council has employed a planning consultant to help fight the proposal and plans to hold a public meeting when the planning application is submitted.