Plans to extend a five star Aberdeen hotel have been recommended for approval by city planners.

An application, which is to be considered by the planning committee next week, seeks permission to make alterations to and extend the Marcliffe Hotel to create 228 new bedrooms, a reception, function area, lounge and leisure and spa accommodation.

A new multi-level, partly underground, 291 space car park also features in the plans.

Planners have recommended that councillors grant conditional approval for the plans for the Pitfodels site, but withhold consent until a bat emergence survey has been carried out and the council is satisfied that no bats would be affected by demolition work, or until the Scottish Government has granted a bat licence for the demolition work.

The hotel currently consists of an original granite house, called Balnagarth, and modern extensions to the rear.

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The application seeks detailed planning permission to extend the hotel's floor space by more than four times – from 5,653 square metres to 23,757 square metres.

The existing modern rear bedroom wing would be demolished to accommodate the new extension which would vary in height from two to five storeys and include a curved five-storey granite wing, tapering to a point level with the frontage of Balnagarth.

The original house would be maintained as a meeting, function and conference area.

In her report to go before the planning committee next week, head of planning and infrastructure, Dr Margaret Bochel writes: "Adverse impacts [of the development] have to be balanced against the undoubted wider economic benefits to the city associated with the provision of high quality hotel accommodation and conference facilities.

"There is strong support for developments that promote sustainable economic development from structure plan policies, the Scottish planning policy and the national planning framework.

"It is also acknowledged that the proposed hotel extension has significant architectural merit and that implementation of the proposal would result in substantial, long-lasting landscape enhancement and tree planting on the remaining parkland within the hotel grounds.

"On balance it is considered that the positive material considerations... outweigh the negative and are sufficient to justify a recommendation of approval of the application."

(GK/KMcA)