Plans to redevelop the Tides Reach hotel in South Sands have once again derailed.

Despite receiving planning permission, the application is set to go back for reconsideration by South Hams District Council’s development management committee.

The Keep South Sands Beautiful Group, who have actively campaigned for any re-development to be “of appropriate size and design”, have welcomed the decision, calling the development management committee’s decision in September “unlawful”.

The campaign group wrote a pre-action protocol letter to SHDC, detailing legal grounds to why the High Court should quash the decision.

Reasons stated included "the misconceived viability study, the failure to apply national and local planning policy correctly and consequent misdirection of the development management committee by the planning case officer.”

Stephen Hitchins from the KSSB group said: “The KSSB group has always believed that the split six-five decision by SHDC last September to grant planning permission on the casting vote of Cllr Judy Pearce was unlawful.

"South Sands is a charming small cove in the South Hams Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We welcome the economic benefits that would come from a rebuilt Tides Reach hotel, but we want a thriving hotel to be of an appropriate size and of a design of which we can all be proud and which does not detract from the natural beauty of its setting."We do not believe that this is achieved by allowing massive development across the South Sands valley and beach head in the existing open and undeveloped area of the AONB and Heritage Coast alongside the existing hotel buildings." Mr Hitchens continued: "This over development largely results from the proposed addition to the hotel of 10 luxury apartments which would not normally be permitted outside the approved development boundary nor in the AONB, but which the developer claims is necessary to make the hotel project financially viable."Our analysis of the developer’s viability study suggests that these apartments could generate gross sale proceeds of £12.5m based on similar pricing to the Salcombe Harbour-Estuary development, against an actual purchase price for the hotel site of £5.5m.Mr Hitchins added: "It is highly regrettable that SHDC failed properly to grapple with its own approved local plan policies against development of this kind, as well as national policies on the Heritage Coast, the AONB and Listed Buildings equally against such development, nor did they grasp the significance of the objection of the AONB Office and the representations of the National Trust and Natural England."

A spokesperson from South Hams District Council said: “A decision notice for redevelopment at Tides Reach for a refurbished hotel and ten residential units has not been issued."The applicant is commissioning further work in respect of the viability of the proposed development, but as yet this has not been completed. The council expects that this will result in a further period of public consultation and a revised planning officer report for reconsideration by the development management committee.”

Mr Hitchins added: "KSSB thanks all its supporters for all their help and calls for a revised application which is policy compliant and sympathetic to its setting."We ask all our supporters to contact councillors both at SHDC and at Salcombe Town Council to urge them to learn the lessons of the last three years and encourage the applicant to come up with a proposal that all of us can support."We want a proposal that doesn’t have to be pushed through development management committee on the back of a misconceived viability report and a misleading planning statement and accepted by a single misdirected vote."