Town councillors have backed plans to build 96 homes on land at the Hotel Imperial in Hythe.

The town council narrowly voted against objecting to the plans – it does not have the authority to refuse them – by a margin of one vote on Thursday night.

However, it was a passionate occasion with many people suggesting the future direction of Hythe could be affected by the plans.

These would see homes and flats built on some of the gardens and one hole of the golf course up to the canal bank, the cash from which would help improve the hotel to the extent that it would become a thriving destination – a role it is not fulfilling.

While Richard Goodall, for Imperial owners GSE, told the meeting that the business angle did not form part of the application and would not normally even be considered, it was suggested openly by councillors and by speakers from the public gallery that the hotel and its 100-plus jobs would not survive without the building. Mr Goodall added: “Capital receipts will not pay for everything and it will still require a substantial investment from GSE.

“We are intending to have a phased programme so that work will always be done on the hotel first.”

In proposing a motion that the works be accepted, with the proviso that the planned improvements to the hotel be set in stone, Cllr Reg Belcourt said: “All the concerns of today were the concerns of yesterday when Fisher Close,Cobay Close etc. were built [on market gardens]. Should the hotel fail, what will happen to that site?”

However, Cllr Stan Hayward disagreed, saying: “We are expected to support this application on the agreeement that the usual amount affordable housing is not going to be there. I still believe that when this hotel was bought the first thing they thought was there’s a large bit of land there we can build 100 houses the make our money back!”

For more on this story, see next week's Kentish Express