New images of the proposed Royal Hotel development in Ashby have been released by architects.

An application to build 17 townhouses on the site - with a view to reopening the hotel - was made to North West Leicestershire District Council last September.

But the plans met with fresh opposition from Historic England who did not support the plans

It called for 'independent professional advice as to the validity of the financial information submitted by the applicant'.

But it says it understands North West Leicestershire District Council plans to commission this.

Simon Dawson, of the Royal's owners Oakland Hotels, proposed the new development for the hotel which has fallen into disrepair since being closing in 2018.

Now Lichfield-based architects BHB has issued updated images of how the new development would look if planning permission were to be granted.

Agents for the project, Stone Planning Services, has given a written outline to the District Council of what changes have been made.

It says: "Since the initial scheme submission the materials proposed for the ground floor single storey elements of the larger townhouses have been reviewed.

"In isolation we feel these work well,

"The landscape plans have now been amended to include a more decorate finish in the black tarmac

"The dormer features have also been detailed to provide confidence that these will be of a traditional construction, again using high quality materials such as lead.

"The roofs of plots 1-3 are designed to reflect those of the adjacent listed Rawdon Terrace, with the aim of providing a coherent street scene with both Rawdon Terrace and the Royal Hotel."

The report also addresses previous criticisms that the new houses would dominate the scene - to the detriment of the importance of the hotel.

It adds: "The remaining townhouses do have the additional storey however we feel that the prominence of the roof will be subservient to the main façade of the house and read separately to the vertical mass the brickwork presents.

"The overall elevations and their proportions are key to the success of the townhouses and feel these would be affected if we increase the height of the parapet wall to hide or mask the roof design.

"As an alternative, we have suggested a robust, more defined course of stone detailing to delineate the upper edge of the facade and emphasise the break in forms.

"We feel this subtle change will also help the dormers to appear less dominant and visually sit beyond this stronger upper edge.

"From the outset of this project, high quality design and appropriate use of materials has been at the forefront.

"Careful attention has been paid to proportions through the correct use of floor to ceiling heights and window sizing to reflect that of a traditional townhouse, whilst ensuring there is zero conflict with the hotel, ensuring it is still the dominant building across the scheme.

"The elevations aim to display a clear hierarchy as you move your way up the building, expressed through the proper sizing and proportion of the windows.

"The car park has been revised to minimise the impact on category A and B trees. As a consequence the site layout has changed, as has the hard and soft landscaping scheme."