The firm behind plans to bring a £5.5 million hotel and restaurant complex to Newton Abbot Racecourse have said they will fight the decision to refuse planning permission.

Leisure industry giants Whitbread wanted to build a 60-bed Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant on the Newton Road side of the racecourse opposite the Tesco superstore.

Planners have thwarted their plans however, claiming the contemporary design and siting of the two new buildings 'conflicts with the character of the site and its surroundings'.

They also believed the buildings 'would neither preserve nor enhance the character and appearance of the area' and that there was insufficient proof of safe access for vehicles and pedestrians.<

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