Residents challenge council over hotel demolition

The Three Counties Hotel in Hereford was used to house asylum seekers after it closed to guests a year ago

A legal challenge has been launched following the decision to demolish a Herefordshire hotel to make way for a new supermarket.

Lidl was granted permission to build a shop on the site of Hereford’s Three Counties Hotel, which was used to house asylum seekers following its closure a year ago.

Now a nameless group of concerned residents have begun a legal bid to try to get Herefordshire Council to rescind its decision to award planning permission.

A council spokesperson said it was considering its response to the legal challenge.

The retailer’s plan was only approved after a lengthy debate by the authority's planning committee a month ago, and then not unanimously.

The nameless group claim the council’s planning officers wrongly advised councillors on the committee, in particular that they could not refuse permission on the grounds of it being a "loss of a community asset".

If this is unsuccessful, the group will try to get a High Court judge to quash the permission through a judicial review, which will test whether the council followed its own rules.

But this has to be applied for within six weeks of the original decision, the group said, adding it was seeking donations to cover its legal costs.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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