Historic Brockenhurst tearoom at Cloud Hotel to disappear if B&B plans approved

A BROCKENHURST tearoom that has been open for nearly 100 years will disappear if plans get the go-ahead.

Proposals have been submitted to the national park authority to convert the Cloud Hotel to an eight-bedroom B&B with five cottages.

A similar scheme won approval last year – but with the inclusion of the tearoom which has been serving since 1925.

In the new version, however, the eatery at the 17-bedroom hotel in Meerut Road has been deleted from the plans.

In the application, the new owners of the Cloud Hotel, Cloud Brockenhurst Ltd, said that a historical parking problem would be compounded by keeping a tearoom.

It said: “Tearooms can become extremely busy, attracting even shorter-term customers for ice creams etc.

“Potentially the tearoom, the B&B, and the holiday lets could result in the same level of congestion as when the hotel was in full operation, or perhaps even more during peak times.”

The hotel currently has approval, obtained by the previous owners, for a B&B, tearoom and five cottages.

The Cloud Brockenhurst Ltd said the new proposal was “focused on rationalising the approved layout to provide a more cohesive flow in terms of architecture, movement around the site and parking”.

It said a key difference between the previous application and the new one is the architectural design of the central three-storey structure.

There will also be a new rear extension, off-street parking and a redesign of the central façade.

According to the application, an informal meeting with Brockenhurst Parish Council received “positive feedback”.

The hotel was created from two Victorian villas and originally called the St Cloud Hotel. Its tearooms were popular with railway passengers and visitors to the village.