By Hannah Brown

Copyright cambridge-news

A hotel in Cambridge is hoping to create new underground spa facilities for guests to enjoy. The Varsity Hotel, in Thompsons Lane, is proposing to excavate under the existing building to create two new basement floor levels for the spa facilities.

The proposed floorplans submitted by the hotel to Cambridge City Council as part of the planning application show a sauna and steam room on the new basement floor, as well as a 15m by 2.5m lap pool, a hydrotherapy pool, and a plunge pool.

The sub-basement floorplan shows a proposed relaxation area for guests to use. The plans said: “A detailed and carefully considered approach to design, scale, mass, site, material and context, coupled with a rigorous and thorough design process has allowed a proposal to be assembled that now responds to the client’s brief.

“[It] sits comfortably within the footprint of the surrounding hotel [and] respects adjacent constraints. [It] Proposed a positive, sustainable, long-term use for the hotel and avoids the need for facilities off site thereby reducing impact on the environment.

“[It] meets the needs of the Cambridge City Council ‘Hotel Futures Study’ [and] meets the requirements of local planning policy set out in the Cambridge Local Plan.”

The latest application follows approval previously being given by the city council for similar plans to create a new basement spa facility. The hotel has also been trying in recent years to get permission to install a canopy over its rooftop terrace.

However, it has faced a lot of push back over its plans, with the most recent designs getting rejected by the city council earlier this year.

For more planning notices in your area visit publicnoticeportal.uk .