Harbour frights

James Thomas is frustrated and tired. Some local residents have objected to his building plans and he's had to cancel an important meeting. The problems have been keeping him awake at night. "I'm annoyed," he says. "I'll have been in Ramsgate two years in April and I just want to get on. I want things to start moving."

He's particularly upset by being unable to meet with his builder, architect and project manager. He had arranged to see them at Ipswich Football Club to review the progress of the project, but they didn't meet because the construction plans, showing where the plumbing and interior walls would go, were not ready.

"There was no point in meeting because we had nothing to say," says Thomas, who describes the delay as a "major hiccup".

His other problem is that some of the local residents have voiced concerns about part of his plans to convert the 27-bedroom Royal Harbour into a four-star hotel.

When Thomas submitted his planning application to Thanet District Council, he invited the residents of Nelson Crescent, his neighbours, to his hotel for a drink and a chat. He wanted to show them a copy of his plans and talk them through what he is proposing. He says that it was "the polite and proper thing to do".

About a dozen people accepted his invitation, which was not as many as he had hoped, and some of those who did turn up subsequently contacted the council expressing concerns. The council will consider their objections at a planning committee meeting in the near future.

Their concerns centre on Thomas's plans to build four "fishermen's huts", as he describes them, in an annexe behind the Royal Harbour. But, as these extra bedrooms will be built on the hotel's car park, which will thus be out of commission, some of the residents are worried that delivery drivers and guests will have to park their vehicles on the street. There are no parking restrictions in Nelson Crescent and they do not want Royal Harbour visitors to park outside their homes.

To get around the problem, Thomas is considering hiring a few spaces at a council-owned multi-storey car park near by. Unfortunately, the car park attracts vandals. Thomas therefore reckons that he will have to ask the council to put a metal fence around his parking spaces, to be locked at night. If the council does not agree, he will have to abandon plans to build the huts. Without them, he will keep his private car park.

Of course, he is hoping that it won't come to this. "The problem is," he says, "a lot of people want regeneration and action in the town, but they don't want what goes with it."

Quickly changing the subject, Thomas announces his latest financial statistics. In January, he achieved £8,000 in sales. His average occupancy for the month was just below 50%. He does not yet have any figures for February.

Back on the main subject, he hopes to learn any day now whether the council will grant him planning and listed-building permission, and is also expecting a provisional costing for the project from his builders. He has pencilled in May in his diary for work to begin. Last month he was toying with the idea of delaying it until September (Caterer, 1 February, page 42). However, he and his builders have since decided that work can begin on the exterior of the property in May. This will involve laying a new roof, fitting new windows and painting the outside of the hotel.

Thomas is also keen to create his first "mock bedroom". This will be bedroom 12, a first-floor room overlooking the harbour. He wants it ready for the summer, when he plans to let it to guests for £100 a night.

The architect, Philip Dadds, has created an interior design plan of the room, showing how it will look when finished. If Thomas likes it, Dadds will create similar plans for each of the 21 other bedrooms.

The plan also shows Thomas's desired interior colour schemes. He wants to paint the walls of each bedroom a pale blue, to reflect the sea outside. The carpets will be milk-chocolate brown in colour. "I want simple colours in the rooms," he says. "I don't want fussy colours because that [he points to the harbour outside the window] is what is important. I want people to leave here thinking, ‘What a wonderful view', not, ‘What wonderful walls'."

Vincent Van Gogh once lived in Ramsgate and, to commemorate this, Thomas has reproductions of his paintings to decorate the walls. The furniture will be teak and mahogany, and the bedrooms overlooking the sea will each have wood-bodied telescopes on stands at the windows.

One area Thomas is having problems with is the curtains. He does not know what colour or fabric to choose. To help him decide, he visited the Laura Ashley store in Cambridge for advice, and a couple of the store's interior designers subsequently visited the Royal Harbour. He showed them samples of the paint and carpet he is planning to use, and they went away to prepare a selection of suitable fabric swatches, which they will send on for Thomas to make his choice.

Later, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his office, Thomas ponders the bedroom plan in front of him. He's not completely happy with it - he wants to move the wardrobe but can't decide where it should go.

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, he sighs and, with a mischievous expression, looks up. Pointing to the figure of a blonde woman drawn into the plan he says, with a giggle: "She's nice, isn't she? I hope the room comes with her."