Planners give green light to first new Peak District National Park hotel in 66 years

The Peak District National Park is set to have its first new build hotel since the park was created in 1961, following a landslide decision by planners for a new tourist development.

The development will provide an important additional visitor facility and hotel for the National Park, which gets 12 million visitors each year, and currently suffers from an immense undersupply of hotel accommodation.

The brownfield site is located on the National Park’s principle route on the edge of Stoney Middleton; one of the Park’s most picturesque and historic villages, and only minutes away from Chatsworth House and Bakewell. The development is set to include two new iconic buildings, featuring a 71-bed hotel and a separate visitor/heritage centre, with a café and craft shop.

The current owners will operate the visitor and heritage centre, but the hotel site is being offered for sale or lease as a development opportunity, and is being marketed by property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall.

Speaking about the hotel site, Ian Naylor, partner at Sanderson Weatherall said, “This is a rare and fantastic opportunity to acquire what it set to be the largest hotel in the National Park. The development will benefit year-round from the huge footfall from both national and international visitors to the area, as well as from corporate and other market sectors, and with little competition.”

The planning application was passed as an exception to normal policy due to its overwhelming public support and benefits to tourism within the National Park.