By Brian Allison, local government reporter

THE Queen’s Hotel in Dundee is in line for a £1.5 million extension which would add another 30 bedrooms.

An application for planning permission to build a three-storey extension at the rear of the hotel in the car park area is due to be considered by the city council’s development quality committee tonight.

The extension, which would increase the number of bedrooms by over a third, would also incorporate an ante room and an entrance lobby.

It will be built on columns so that car parking spaces can be retained.

As well as seeking planning permission the applicants have also asked for listed building consent for alterations to the category B hotel.

Objections to the proposed extension have been lodged by Dundee Civic Trust and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland relating to the scale of the extension as well as the design and materials.

Council planning and transportation director Mike Galloway recommends approval of the applications.

He said the design of the extension had been altered from the original submission, resulting in an improvement to the scheme.

Mr Galloway said the hotel has several features of architectural interest within the building and the extension would not impact on them.

While the rear elevation of the hotel was generally of high quality, the director said the area to the west had previously been altered and finished in cement render which was damaging to the fabric of the listed building.

He therefore considered the location of the proposed extension would help improve the appearance of the hotel building, and the materials would complement it.

Referring to the scale of the extension, Mr Galloway said the existing building was 41/2-storeys high and the extension, though large, would not compete with or dominate the hotel.

The director said the proposal complied with relevant policies of the development plan and there were no material considerations justifying a decision to the contrary.