THE trendy Pig On The Beach at Studland is to build a single-storey restaurant extension to cater for more customers.

Dorset Council has agreed the works to the Grade 2 listed Manor Road hotel building, previously known as the Manor Hotel.

Owners, the Home Grown Hotels group, based at Lyndhurst, say the extension will be added to the existing restaurant conservatory which was built in 2014 and will not make any changes to the main building.

Overall it will add 36 square metres to the complex, the extension to be in the same style and materials as the existing conservatory, said to be based on a Regency period orangery.

Studland parish council raised no objection to the proposals and Dorset Council’s conservation officer was content that the changes would match the existing, maintaining the overall look of the building, which was constructed in 1825 as a ‘marine villa’ for the Right Honourable George Bankes.

After being requisitioned for military use during the Second World War the building was converted to hotel use. Planning consent was granted in 2013 for a renovation and additional guest accommodation for the present operators, opening in 2014.

The business does not say how many additional diners it would be able to accommodate with the extension, but drawings submitted with the application suggest between up to 30, depending on how the tables are configured.

Dorset Echo: The proposed extension is detailed to match the existing restaurant design

Said the business in a statement to planners: “The restaurant creates the feeling of dining in a greenhouse and a relaxed atmosphere that is enjoyed by those staying at the hotel as well as non-residential guests. Restaurant operations at the Pig on the Beach have proven to be extremely popular and additional dining space is required to meet growing demand.”

The business currently offers 18 letting rooms in the main building, three in the coach house and also has two staff bedrooms.

The site lies within the Studland Conservation Area, Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Purbeck Heritage Coast at the eastern edge of Studland overlooking Studland Bay.

The business is frequently highly rated in online social media postings and by restaurant critics.