PLANS by a former nightclub operator to build a 20 bedroom boutique hotel on a derelict site have been turned down by planners.

The company behind the former Tall Trees nightclub, Maher Entertainments, applied for permission to build the hotel, with bar and bistro, on the run-down former Campbell’s tyre depot to the east of Bentley Wynd on Yarm’s High Street.

The hotel would have been “something Yarm can be proud of”, the developer Jake Majid, son of former Tall Trees Hotel owner Javed Majid, had said.

But Stockton Borough Council’s planning committee rejected the plan, saying it the hotel was “too big for its footprint” and due to the impact on neighbours on the quieter southern part of Yarm High Street.

Amanda Nicklin, speaking on behalf of those living on Bentley Wynd, told the meeting: “This hotel is surrounded on all sides by private houses and private gardens.

“It is not part of the busy town centre and never has been. It is quiet and away from all the night-time businesses.

“The applicant has been trying to 16 years to get planning permission for a night-time business on this site and it has been repeatedly refused on the grounds of undue impact.

“I can only ask you not to drive us, as residents, out of the area, by approving this.”

She also said road safety for the children who played on Bentley Wynd was a concern.

More than 60 objections were received by residents against the scheme, with 12 letters of support, including from town councillors including Andrew Sherris, Marjorie Simpson and Peter Monck.

Stockton Councillor Phil Dennis, a planning committee member, said: “I am concerned this development is too close to the houses on Bentley Wynd. Six metres between doesn’t seem like very much.”

Concerns were also raised about the lack of long-stay parking in Yarm, and the fact the hotel had only four staff parking spaces.

The agent for the developer said Yarm High Street had changed considerably in recent years, and spoke of the economic and employment benefits the hotel would bring, as well as extra tourism.

The tyre site has controversially stood derelict for many years at the southern entrance to Yarm High Street.

But councillors were more concerned about the impact the 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, business would have on the families living in Bentley Wynd. The application was refused by eight votes to four.