Don't think you can blame the council and planning for this when it is mostly down to economics and roads....
Up until recent years people could drive for a whole day and get to Dover and want to stay the night before the ferry, but now you can get from almost the far reaches of England and be in France within the day. The days of guest houses were numbered and what else could they do with the properties ??
I regularly use Travelodges, the last few years we have gone away somewhere in the country and stayed, even on Xmas day for £9 a night. You would not get anywhere near that price for a B&B or hotel
