NEWBURY Racecourse wants to keep open the option of building a new 123-bedroom hotel, despite local opposition from neighbours.

The racecourse also wants to build a three-storey extension to its hotel, the Lodge, increasing the number of bedrooms from 36 to 76.

In July last year, the company received planning permission to build the extension, and also to permanently use the Lodge as a hotel — the Lodge was previously only meant for staff looking after horses.

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As part of that permission, the racecourse said they wouldn’t build a new 123-bedroom hotel; for which it was given permission in 2011.

Councillors on the western area planning committee at West Berkshire Council decided to give permission for the extension, only if the racecourse entered a legal agreement not to build the new hotel.

But now Newbury Racecourse wants to change that legal agreement, meaning the hotel could be built after all.

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The hotel would be built to the east of the course, and previously raised concerns of local residents and councillors. The changes would mean the racecourse would have to stop using the Lodge as a hotel, if it wanted to go ahead with building the new hotel.

Simon Till, a council planning officer, said the changes to the legal agreement are “based on genuine commercial concerns of the racecourse”.

He made the comments in a report to the western area planning committee, which will decide on March 18 whether to approve the changes. Mr Till recommended approval.

Mr Till said the racecourse could go ahead with building the hotel “should this prove commercially necessary at some point in the future”.

Elsewhere, the changed legal agreement would leave open the option of building a further 47 hotel bedrooms on the site, although it is currently unclear where these would be built.