Raymond Blanc has won planning permission to extend Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, after a three-year struggle with the local authority.
The successful application was a cut-down version of earlier plans, omitting a spa development to which there had been specific objections. The 19-bedroom hotel now has approval for £3.5m worth of improvements.
The first phase, which starts in September and will end by May 1998, will include a £500,000 staff accommodation block. Other additions include 13 bedrooms, a private dining room, preparation rooms, a conservatory extension and a cookery school.
The hotel will have reduced capacity from mid-September, with just two of its three restaurant rooms open, but none of the bedrooms will need to close.
Building may have to stop during summer 1998, to accommodate Le Manoir's busiest season. But, if all goes to plan, the project should be complete by 1999.