Henry VIII would have suppressed it savagely, but the current custodians of Hampton Court Palace are having difficulty dealing with a conspiracy of local and national authorities.

Developers have been given preliminary approval to build a four-storey hotel, flats and retail outlets across the river from the palace – to the fury of its guardians.

Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is demanding a public inquiry into the proposals, which it says will destroy riverside views surrounding the Tudor building, in East Molesey.

David Starkey, Britain’s leading Tudor historian, spoke out against any plans that might affect the palace and its surroundings. “Hampton Court is one of the three most important palace complexes to have survived in Europe. It is surrounded by a unique and magical landscape,” he said. “Anything that gratuitously damages it isn’t a national scandal but an international scandal.”

Times Archive, 1896: Fire at Hampton Court Palace

It was for sometime feared that the great national collection of treasures would be destroyed

HRP said that the damage caused by the proposed development would be “immeasurable”. The six-acre site would be as large as the Tudor and Baroque parts of the palace, while the proposed hotel would be as tall as the palace’s west front.

On Tuesday the proposals, by Gladedale, a development company based in Epsom, Surrey, were approved by Elmbridge Borough Council’s area planning committee. The full planning committee is expected to give it the green light on November 11.

HRP is angered that its fight to secure a full public inquiry has been undermined by the refusal of English Heritage, the Government’s adviser on historic sites and buildings, to support it.

Tim Jones, a team leader at English Heritage, said: “We would still prefer to see nothing on this site other than a landscaped park, but we felt this scheme was less harmful than the previous one.”

But John Barnes, HRP’s conservation director, ridiculed the idea of “plonking down” urban buildings at the site.

“Once breached, it’s breached for ever. [The development’s] dominance and physical proximity would diminish the importance of the palace itself. It’s inconceivable to us that this would be allowed next to Hampton Court Palace. It would be unthinkable in other countries. Imagine this outside the gates of Versailles.”

The site was bought by Gladedale in 2005. It had been derelict since the 1980s, when fire destroyed a 1940s kiosk used by travellers at the adjacent railway station. The company is planning the development with Network Rail and Royal Star & Garter Homes. It will include a care home and refurbishment of the railway station.

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette