A LUXURY five-star hotel in the New Forest hopes to expand if it wins permission from district planning officers.

The prestigious Chewton Glen Hotel, near New Milton, has submitted plans to New Forest District Council to build a two-storey 10-bed extension to the croquet lawn wing.

Bournemouth-based developer Terence O'Rourke PLC, acting as agent for the hotel, has also applied for permission to expand the hotel's Clock Tower, converting an existing suite into three new rooms as well as creating a new bistro restaurant from the current Gatehouse Lodge.

The hotel, which opened in 1966, is set in 130-acre grounds and has been gradually extended to 58 bedrooms and suites, a state of the art spa and hydrotherapy facility, conferencing rooms, tennis courts, a croquet lawn as well as its own helicopter landing pad.

But with a rise in the numbers of new luxury accommodation, the Chewton Glen has had to remain competitive by renovating a number of rooms to make them larger and in doing so reduced the existing number of bedrooms by 17.

Despite the hotel attracting a large amount of lucrative business to the area, the agent may face some obstacles, as the hotel is located in the south-west Hampshire green belt area, where strict planning controls apply.

And with only minor extensions permitted under local planning rules, develop-ers may have to persuade council officers the proposed extensions are vital to the maintenance of the Chewton Glen as a world-class hotel.

While minor extensions have previously been permitted, the hotel has still not regained the capacity it once had and developers believe "the proposed extensions seek to retain the hotel's position in the global tourism and business market and to meet the needs and expectations of its guests".

Terence O'Rourke believes "special circumstances" will apply as the hotel is an important source of employment in the local area and has consistently contributed to the tourist economy.