The Grand Hotel

KITSON Architecture Ltd successfully secured planning permission and listed building consent for a scheme at the Grade II listed Grand Hotel in Lytham St. Annes to construct a new glazed porch and access ramp.

The client’s brief was threefold: 1. To improve level access to the hotel by provision of a new ramp 2. Create a new storm porch to protect the hotel and guests from the worst of the coastal weather conditions and 3. Investigate the possibility of reinstating a former first floor balcony long since demolished.

Having analysed the brief the design process involved an extensive study of local archive information to establish the nature and aesthetics of the former balcony, a pre-application exchange of information with the planners was followed by a meeting with the local conservation officer on site to discuss the proposals. Concurrently the developing design was discussed with building control as the provision of a new fully compliant ramp was a key element of the brief.

While the minimal design in glass and steel is thoroughly contemporary KITSON Architecture Ltd have proposed red sandstone, sympathetic to the existing building, for the stone base to give the structure a firm footing both aesthetically and structurally. The massing of the proposal is similar to the design of the original porch and balcony, unearthed by study of archive information, and we are exploring the use of extra-clear ‘Optiwhite’ glass for the porch to ensure that the intricacies of the existing façade will be seen through the new construction.