Superdry founder's plans for iconic Cheltenham hotel will create a 'Mayfair-Paris' vibe

It's been the talk of the town for months, but last night Julian Dunkerton, the founder of Superdry, won permission to create a new garden area at No 131 Promenade - saving 100 jobs.

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Good morning. A slightly earlier and slightly shorter edition today as we rush some news your way. On the plus side, there is no paywall today! So please do share this edition and refer others to sign up too.

We hope you had a good week. Julian Dunkerton certainly has, as you’ll see below.

He’s the main character in today’s main story on The Raikes Journal, made possible by our new relationship with the BBC that gives us access to its excellent journalism.

Which means we have the full story on last night’s victory for one of Gloucestershire’s highest profile businessmen, Julian Dunkerton, in his bid to build a permanent structure of some kind at the front of his No 131 Promenade hotel, bar and restaurant.

For the town’s civic society, this is about removing the eyesore tented area erected with permission during the pandemic to reveal the frontage of one of the town’s grade-II* buildings.

For Dunkerton this was about finding a long-term replacement to the tents, which had allo…