A proposal to build the £8 million hotel on the site was revealed last month, but people who live in the area say it does not meet the guidelines of Warwick District Council's planning policy.

Members of the group, who held their first meeting on Tuesday, also feel the site is too small for a multistorey building – which would have 128 rooms and a car park for 81 vehicles.

Hampton Street resident Nigel Hamilton, who organised the meeting, said: "It's very difficult to understand how the proposal meets the guidelines. The case they are putting forward is very weak

"It's interesting how many people turned up on Tuesday, considering that the racecourse alleged there were only six houses that would be affected."

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Bread and Meat Close resident Peter Kerr added: "Many years ago, hotel and restaurant The Woolpack in Market Place closed down and in the past year The Aylesford hotel also closed.

"The new hotel would need far more clients than the ones needed to keep the other hotels in business."

Mr Hamilton, who has lived in the area for four years, said: "The guidelines identify the racecourse as one of the most important open spaces for the residents of west Warwick.

"We will make strenuous efforts to draw to the attention of planning councillors and officers to the fact that they need some very good reasons to ignore their own guidelines.

"We sincerely hope that it will not proceed to a planning application as it will be a fruitless exercise and a waste of money."

Warwick Racecourse's managing director, Huw Williams, defended the proposal, stating that he did not think the site was inappropriate.

He said: "Much of the business case behind it is that it is to serve as a town centre hotel. Anything further out would not be offering that benefit.

"Our architects are experts in hotel design – they obviously

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