A long term planning permission for a long term vision
Ask anyone in business which single external factor is most important to sustained success, and they will rank stability highly. This is especially true of the hospitality sector, where external factors are perhaps more numerous, more wide-ranging and more prone to change – such as shifting consumer trends to economic fluctuations.
At Rudding Park Hotel and Spa, a renowned independent, family-owned estate nestled in 300 acres of historic Yorkshire countryside, the future is being reshaped. With a bold ten-year investment programme on the horizon, the stakes were high. The goal was to enhance and expand the hotel’s already impressive offering while preserving its unique character and ensuring long-term profitability.
In meeting that goal, the opportunity to achieve a ten-year planning consent was not just of huge value but a game-changer.
The success was down to Sarah Cox, Head of Planning in Carter Jonas’ Leeds office. Together with Richard Holliday, Associate in the Planning team, Carter Jonas delivered a rare and valuable outcome: outline planning consent for the entire decade-long vision. This wasn’t just a win on paper. It was a strategic milestone that gives Rudding Park the confidence to invest, evolve and thrive.
The importance of a long-term vision
Sarah explains: “Stability and certainty are critical to the leisure industry for many reasons, including the need to attract investment, maintain partnerships and make future plans for facilities, staff, services.
“While instability in politics and economics is in the headlines daily, the factors that impact on the leisure sector specifically are less well understood. Trends and changing customer preferences can evolve rapidly, requiring facilities to adapt. Fluctuations in the cost of living – positive or negative – impact immediately on the hospitality industry, as leisure activities, hotel breaks and eating out are a discretionary spend.”
As in any sector, major redevelopment projects must be carefully managed to avoid undermining financial stability. But there’s more to it than that: For a premium destination like Rudding Park, there’s an added layer of complexity: renovation work must be carried out with minimal disruption to the guest experience.
The extent of the planning application
Rudding Park comprises a luxury 90 bed/suite hotel, a destination spa (awarded the Best Spa Hotel at the 2022 World Wellness Awards), 18 and 6-hole golf courses and a driving range, a 57-acre holiday park, award-winning restaurants, a Victorian Gothic chapel and popular conference and events facilities. The estate is centred around the Grade I Listed house and set within a Registered Park and Garden, located in the Green Belt.
The 10-year planning permission that Carter Jonas achieved in September 2024 enables a comprehensive programme of enhancements across the estate and its facilities, including: demolition, replacement and extension of the golf club; creation of a new tennis pavilion and outdoor tennis courts; provision of a new family facility, including a children's activity centre with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a café and creche; restoration works to the historic walled garden; improved car parking and the creation of a series of routes and walkways with associated public realm improvements.
The process of achieving planning consent
So, what was it that led to this unprecedented planning consent? Richard explains: “Our strategy was to work with the family to develop a long-term vision and roadmap for the next 25 years. It was a challenging task, considering the extent of change impacting on the leisure sector, but for such a multifaceted and complex business. T he long-term cohesive approach was imperative: relying on a series of piecemeal planning consents and building projects and a lack of certainty as to whether each could progress as intended would have been almost impossible to manage and certainly detrimental to the hotel’s profitability.
“For our team, creating the vision document required a comprehensive knowledge of the leisure sector and Rudding Park’s unique position within it. We had to identify the necessary change over the 25-year period and working closely with the owners to clearly articulate that vision and the supporting business case to the local planning authority.”
Local authority support
As anyone involved in planning will know, local authority support is crucial to planning success – especially one as complex as this. Certainly the overarching vision, to ‘create the UK’s best independent luxury resort’ and ‘remain the jewel in the crown for Harrogate tourism’ resonated strongly with the local authority.
“This wasn’t a narrative crafted just for the planning process,” says Sarah. “It reflects decades of genuine community engagement and commitment by the owners – from the days when the hotel simply provided teas for locals to today, attracting over half a million people each year. On the basis that most guests will also visit local tourist attractions and restaurants in Harrogate, this is estimated to benefit the local economy by £7.8m each year. Rudding Park pays wages of over £10m each year and spends over £9m per year with local and regional suppliers.”
But the impact goes beyond economics, Sarah explains: “The hotel hosts a variety of open days, school visits and charity support days, it sponsors a young golf academy and works with local colleges in providing catering apprenticeships. And while these considerable investments are important, so is the fact that the family shops locally and takes care that, wherever possible, every tree planted on the estate is a native species.”
Richard adds, “The planning application required detailed negotiations with the local planning authority, through pre-application consultation, a planning performance agreement and a comprehensive outline planning application. Extensive consultation and liaison with local authority planning officers, consultees, and external stakeholders throughout the planning process ensured the proposals aligned with Rudding Park’s vision whilst responding to planning policy constraints and stakeholder feedback. The application successfully addressed all technical planning matters and demonstrated the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development in the Green Belt and the councillors agreed with the request to allow a 10-year consent.”
Delivery
The consented building works are expected to be phased over several years. Each phase will be delivered in a manner which supports the enhancement of Rudding Park while ensuring the uninterrupted operation of existing facilities. As Carter Jonas will continue to work with the owners on the necessary detailed planning consents, the masterplan will be addressed logically, efficiently and in a coordinated manner.
The benefits of this strategy are both significant and wide-ranging. Take biodiversity net gain, for example: rather than a series of individual planning applications requiring BNG assessments, this was achieved in the single-overarching planning permission. Efficiencies such as this will occur at every stage of the ten-year investment programme.
Conclusion
Long-term planning permissions offer clear advantages, particularly for sectors such as hospitality. Amid evolving customer expectations and economic uncertainty, this approach provides valuable stability and flexibility for owners and leisure operators. It not only supports stronger outcomes for individual applicants but also helps foster broader business confidence and regional growth.
