PLANS for a 147-bedroom hotel in Stretford have finally been approved after they had to be redrawn.

Original plans for a nine-storey, 197-bedroom hotel on land off Barton Road, next to Circle Court social housing tower block, were rejected by Trafford Council over the building’s height and mass.

Concerns were also raised by the then-owners of the Trafford Centre, intu, about the standard of the hotel being proposed for the site.

It felt the hotel was not going to be high end enough for the location.

Local residents of Circle Court and councillors representing them had also raised concerns regarding the impact the hotel and its guests could have on nearby roads and parking availability.

Now, developers Create Developments Ltd have gone back to the drawing board, reduced the height of the building and the number of rooms available on site for the hotel which will sit within a stone’s throw of the Trafford Centre.

Cllr Aidan Williams, chairing the meeting, said: “I am really pleased that this application has come back to us.

"I think it is a dramatic improvement on what was being proposed," Cllr Williams added.

“I think the amount of effort the applicant has decided to go to improve the scheme that it’s clear that much more effort has gone into demonstrating that this will be a benefit for the site,” Cllr Williams said.

The developers consulted extensively with nearby residents following the council’s previous rejection of the plans and took on board councillors’ concerns about the number of trees that would have to be cut down on the site to make room for the building.

Now, six out of the 11 trees on the site, including two mature willow and maple trees, will be retained.

Following the deemed improvements to the planning application, Trafford Council’s planning committee approved the proposals unanimously.