Planning row over former Spot in the Woods hotel in Woodlands being turned into home compete with AstroTurf football ground and helipad

A FORMER New Forest hotel is at the centre of a planning row, with furious neighbours hitting out at its owners over multi-coloured garden lights an AstroTurf football pitch and a helipad.

Previously known as Spot in the Woods, the building now known as Woodlands is in the village of the same name.

It was once owned by the late world-renowned wine sommelier Gerard Basset and his wife Nina who co-founded the Hotel du Vin chain.

The Grade II listed building was then known as Hotel TerraVina but after Gerard was diagnosed with cancer the couple decided to turn it into a smaller boutique B&B called Spot in the Woods.

After his death in 2017 it was sold to Hillbrooke Hotels in 2020 which said it would be turned into the “best in the area” carrying out a multimillion-pound revamp.

But according to current owners Stephen Parker and Hannah Passmore, who brought it in September last year, running a hotel at the site is not “viable” and they have turned it into a home instead. But after a complaint was received by the New Forest National Park Authority, the couple have submitted a retrospective application for change of use.

They are also want permission for “replacement glazed balustrading” to a first-floor terrace and removal of a “faux mono-pitched roof”.

A previous application for a change of use in December 2023 was refused. Netley Marsh Parish Council is now backing Mr Parker turning the hotel into a home but said the proposed glazed terrace was a “particular problem.”

But the couple’s plans have not gone down so well with some neighbours, including one who described the 19th century hotel as “much loved” and “cherished”. Commenting on the new application they said: “It provided local employment and brought in associated tourism to the area. The works carried out there include a large surrounding wooden fence, a full AstroTurf football pitch, including a helipad.

“Extensive lighting on the outside of the building and coloured lights in the grounds are kept on during the hours of darkness and are causing severe light pollution. It seems to appear that the present owners had no intention of marketing the property as a hotel from the outset.”

Another neighbour agreed: “Permission for change of use was refused and then ignored. I don't understand how having had permission to convert to residential use refused, the owners have undertaken so much work to convert into a home, proceeded to move in and then ask again for new permission.

“Putting the change of use aside, I object to the addition of the roof terrace, the addition of the external building lights and the coloured floodlights now illuminating trees in the garden. Ironically, the building now looks more like a business than it did before.”

Another villager said they had been “shocked” when building work started on the former hotel last year: “Having lived locally for over 50 years I have frequently used all three hotels and found these to be an important part of the infrastructure of the local community.“

They complained they were now suffering light pollution and noise problems from matches held on the football ground.

But other residents welcomed the couple’s plans with one saying: “When talking with the different managers of the hotel it was obvious that maintenance and repairs were difficult for them to do and there were clear signs that the business wasn’t viable.

“It is a lovely building with a history. It seems far better to us to have someone living there who looks after it and makes it their home than place it in the hands of a faceless corporate organisation.”

Another said: “When the property was a hotel, it was rather noisy, spoiling the enjoyment of the Forest for residents, tourists, dog walkers, and Forest animals. To attract more customers, the hotel began promoting more commercial events such as weddings, parties, glam camping, festivals etc. This resulted in loud music throughout the day and sometimes beyond midnight in a residential and rural area. “

They added that if the hotel became a home, it would be “returned to its former splendour.”

New Forest NPA planners are still to make a decision on the application.