Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons secures approval for 31 new buildings

By Nicky Godding

5 July 2022

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One of the UK's most delightful and luxurious hotels has secured planning permission to build a new wellness spa, bistro and hotel suites.

Long standing chef patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc, said that the expansion plans, reported to cost around £46 million, would enable Le Manoir to offer ‘unique and world-class experiences’ to customers.

But not everyone was happy. Locals had objected to South Oxfordshire District Council on the grounds of green belt concerns and increased road traffic. The existing site contains listed buildings and structures including the 15th century manor house. The approval was carried with five votes in favour, four against and one abstention.

“Le Manoir has long been a pioneer of sustainability within the hospitality industry and that won’t stop. It is essential that we reinvent Le Manoir and prepare it for tomorrow," Raymond Blanc was reported as saying.

Le Manoir is owned by Belmond Ltd, a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide.

The refurbishment works will also see The Raymond Blanc Academy being built, which will be housed in a timber-clad green-oak trussed barn.

The property’s existing cookery and art school will see the building of a development kitchen and lecture space, while the conservatory dining room will be demolished and replaced and the kitchen upgraded with new technologies.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.