Country’s first Passivhaus hotel is approved at Runswick Bay, near Whitby

An artist's impression of the planned Runswick Bay hotel as shown to the planning committee

North York Moors National Park Authority members heard Octopi Property’s ultra-low energy building requiring very little additional heating off the Cleveland Way in the seaside village would represent a visual improvement in the fishing village which was rebuilt after being destroyed in a landslide in 1682.

A meeting of the authority’s planning committee was told the proposed three-storey 20-bedroom hotel would see the red brick Cliffemount Hotel, which had been empty for several years and fallen into disrepair, replaced with a 20-bedroom hotel employing 15 full-time and 15 part-time staff.

The planned development, which has been in development for 15 months, also includes a community pub and restaurant and sunken patios to serve the dining and bar areas overlooking the sea.

Members enthused about the environmental credentials of the hotel beside the Cleveland Way trail, after hearing claims it would be about 20 times as airtight as a standard build and feature mechanical ventilation and a heat recovery system.

Passivhaus standard properties can retain enough energy from the sun and activities of its occupants so that it requires very little additional heating or cooling.

Officers told members the imposing property would have normal solar panels in areas where the roof would be hidden from public view.

Ahead of the meeting North Yorkshire Council’s head of tourism had backed the venture saying it would “enhance the tourism product in the area”.

She said: “The development is considerate to the local amenity, and I fully applaud the commitment to sustainability and the Passivhaus concept.

"The renovation plan has been considered with the community at its heart, is sympathetic to its coastal national park location and can only benefit Runswick Bay in a positive way.”

A resident told the meeting: “This is what is needed.

"Cliffemount has been an iconic building and an iconic business and needs to continue.”

The authority’s longest serving member, David Jeffels, said: “I see this as a great vote of confidence in the Yorkshire Coast tourism industry.”

David Hugill, a former chairman of the committee, added: “This is massive for this national park to get something like a Passivhaus hotel.

"It is absolutely brilliant.”