Plans for 25 new homes designed to secure the future of a luxury Bishopton hotel have been recommended for approval.
Mar Estates Ltd has applied to erect a development of detached houses and bungalows within the greenbelt grounds of the five-star Mar Hall Golf and Spa Resort.
If the proposals get the go-ahead, there will be 20 four and five-bed homes and five three-bed bungalows built to the east of the hotel which will provide additional revenue for the business and boost its chances of survival.
Mar Estates Ltd has said the hotel will likely become financially unstable unless the surrounding grounds are diversified.
The company first expressed interest in creating a housing development last May when it applied to build 28 homes on the land, but this was withdrawn in February.
Planning chiefs have recommended the latest plans are given the green light.
However, Bishopton Community Council has highlighted fears around increased traffic and the extra pressure it could place on schools and health services, particularly with the major Dargavel Village development progressing nearby.
The council has said the plans are acceptable as they will help to ensure the long-term viability of the hotel, which is a 19th-century category A listed building.
In a report to the planning board, officers said: "The applicants have confirmed they are proposing the development on the basis the Mar Hall Golf and Spa Resort is unlikely to maintain financial stability and retain employment for staff without diversification of its associated land.
"The proposal would contribute to sustainable economic growth by ensuring the longer-term viability of Renfrewshire’s only five-star hotel and golf resort.
"Traffic and access arrangements have been sensitively accommodated within the development.
"Careful consideration has also been given to the layout, design and grouping of buildings, to ensure they adequately respect the landscaped setting. Furthermore, the applicant has demonstrated protection measures, relating to the existing woodland in and around the site.
"It is considered that on balance that this proposal is acceptable."
Formerly known as Erskine House, Mar Hall sits amid 200 acres of the Earl of Mar Estate and was originally built in the mid-1800s for the 11th Lord Blantyre, Major General Robert Walter Stuart.
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After the Blantyre line became extinct in 1900, the building re-opened in 1916 as a hospital for limbless soldiers and sailors and was the second-largest specialist hospital of its kind in the UK.
In 2004, the building underwent a £15 million restoration and was turned into the five-star hotel we know today.
Mar Estates has proposed the access to the new housing development would be via the existing hotel access road with additional internal roads proposed.
Fifty new native trees are set to be planted on the land, but documents indicate two healthy trees would be removed.
