Plans to upgrade one of the best-known hotels in the New Forest have been unveiled.
The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has received an application to replace the stables at Burley Manor with five new guest suites.
New Forest Hotels is seeking consent for a single-storey, U-shaped complex that reflects the form and layout of the equine buildings.
The Grade II-listed hotel overlooks Burley Park, home of the annual Dogstival event for man's best friend.
The application says the proposed new guest suites will boost the local tourism industry, secure the hotel's future, and enhance the site.
READ MORE: Burley Manor named best countryside hotel in UK
It adds: "Until recent years the stables were used as a base for a local riding establishment that undertook trips onto the surrounding Forest via the village of Burley.
"The proposed replacement building would occupy less floorspace than the existing ones.
"It's clear that space not only exists to accommodate such a scheme but there is considerable scope to 're-forest' a large part - indeed the majority - of the application site.
"It should be noted that the existing site is floodlit externally.
"There is thus an opportunity to significantly reduce the impact of this harsh, functional lighting in favour of something more subtle and appropriate."
The application says the scheme would affect neither the main hotel building nor sensitive parts of its immediate setting.
"It's important to make it absolutely clear that what is being proposed in this application is not any kind of self-catering operation.
"The guest suites would in effect be hotel rooms, wholly dependent upon the main hotel for all of the servicing and booking requirements that apply to any room within the hotel itself.
"Other than the standard tea/coffee making facilities there would be no cooking or other kitchen facilities in the suites.
"The suites are, in effect, an extension of the hotel to provide additional guest rooms and should be treated as such."
The application says the proposed development would raise the profile of the local tourism offer, providing an excellent example of environmental improvements in the process.
"Burley Manor Hotel is a significant local employer and its guests generate income for other local businesses and service providers.
"What is proposed is a genuinely sustainable form of tourism development. It would underline and secure the hotel’s position within the market thereby, ensuring it continues to remain a significant contributor to the local economy.
"It would provide high-quality guest accommodation, plus ecological and visual enhancements."
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