The fourth attempt to win consent for a Premier Inn in the centre of Falmouth has run into trouble at the first hurdle as town councillors unanimously opposed the scheme.

Whitbread, Premier Inn's parent company, wants to build a 70-bed hotel on the site of the Discovery Quay car park site off Campbeltown Way. The new hotel would create more than 25 new jobs on opening and the company predicts it could attract around 25,000 guests to Falmouth annually.

The proposals, which have attracted 84 objections on Cornwall Council's planning portal, went before Falmouth Town Council's planning committee on Monday night. Several local residents attended the meeting with three of them speaking against the scheme.

They complained that the hotel would impact on the quality of life of neighbouring residents of and would "overshadow" the historic Arwenack Manor and Killigrew Monument and "completely change the character of the area for ever."

Concerns were also raised over the loss of car parking and the additional vehicles the hotel would attract, the noise it would generate and the "public hazard" that the delivery vehicles would create when servicing the hotel.

While councillors had sympathy with some of the objections, it wasn't felt that the parking issue was one that could be pursued as a reason to refuse the application, and nor was the competition the hotel would bring to other accommodation providers in the town.

Councillor Vicky Eva said: "The parking is not going to add any weight to a refusal. You go to wherever and many of them (Premier Inns) do not have parking so that's no reason at this stage to refuse it, but the massing etc, there maybe some mileage in that."

It was also questioned whether the company had done enough to reduce the impact the building would have on residents of Fisher Court. Councillor Steve Eva said: "I think it's big for the area it's going into. I think they have done a bit to calm down the impact on Fisher Court, but it is still quite an impact."

Councillor Steve Gray added: "We have to take into account what the people of the town want. I think this is complete overdevelopment of a small town plot."

Several councillors thought the site of the former Four Winds Inn would be a more suitable location for a Premier Inn. Speaking of the current proposal, Grenville Chappel, mayor and chairman of the planning committee, said: "I think it's the wrong place for it because of the overdevelopment and massing.

"I think we could do with one, but not where it is. The Four Winds site would be ideal - I live next to that and I would be happy with it."

The committee voted unanimously to recommend that Cornwall Council refuses the application because of the adverse impact the hotel would have on Arwenack Manor and the Killigrew Monument, its massing, its impact on neighbours and the problems that would be caused in the area by delivery vehicles.