Plans for a 93-bedroom hotel in Walton have been refused by Elmbridge Council.

Councillors unanimously refused the application for a Premier Inn hotel at the current P&Q Homestore site in Terrace Road at a planning sub-committee meeting on Monday evening.

The application, which was withdrawn in November 2012 and resubmitted in January, would also create two retail units beneath the proposed hotel, which would range from three to five storeys.

The redrafted plans saw the number of bedrooms reduced from 95 to 93, with a reduction in height of on the Terrace Road and Manor Road junction.

Chris Sadler, chairman of the committee and ward councillor for Walton Central, said: “It is obviously a very substantial proposal even though it has been scaled back from the original proposal last year.

“I think it is unfortunate there was no public consultation about what local people might think about such a scheme and, at the meeting I attended with Premier Inn representatives, they accepted that may have been a better way of approaching it.

“A 93-bedroom hotel is going to have a very significant impact.

"It is a long way from the station and really it is not accessible unless you take a taxi.”

Due to the lack of public consultation, Councillors Rachael Lake and Andrew Kelly delivered 1,500 letters to homes about the proposals.

Under the proposals, no parking provisions would be provided for hotel users and instead visitors would have to use space in existing car parks in the town.

Councillor Christine Cross, ward councillor for Walton North, said: “The car parking concerns me.

"Why should we provided a car park for our residents to go shopping and a hotel comes in and expects to take it over in the evenings?”

Councillor Andrew Kelly also expressed his concerns. He said: “The Manor Road car park seems to be full all the time.

“They claim people will come late at night and leave early in the morning. Why do we need 93 bedrooms in Walton? The Travelodge right by the station in Walton is nearly always empty.”

The design of the building was also not to the taste of the councillors.

Councillor Mary Sheldon said the design looked like it was “drawn by someone who is totally drunk” and Councillor Stuart Hawkins likened the design to Lego bricks you would knock down.

Among the reasons for refusal, councillors agreed the development would “by reason of its bulk, mass, siting and design, result in a visually dominant form of development, to the particular detriment of the setting of the locally listed church when viewed along Terrace Road from the conservation area”.

More than 200 letters of objection were received, plus two petitions objecting the plans.

A spokesman for Oakhurst Real Estate said: “We are disappointed in the decision made by the planning committee. We will be reviewing the determination and will make a decision on our next steps in due course.”