Hotel to be restored as homes approved - council

The Royal Hotel, in Ashby de la Zouch, has stood empty since 2018

The future of a historic hotel in Leicestershire has been secured after plans for new homes on land either side of it were approved, a council has said.

The Royal Hotel, in Station Road, in Ashby de la Zouch, has stood empty since 2018 and was included in Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2021.

But the owner of the Grade II listed building has now been given the go-ahead to build 17 town houses on land next to it.

North West Leicestershire District Council said the development and sale of the homes would fund the renovation of the hotel and "ultimately bring it back into use".

The authority said the hotel, which originally opened in 1827, closed due to financial pressures and the need to "bring the building up to modern standards".

Plans for the town houses were approved on 23 July after a Section 106 agreement - designed to secure the future of the hotel - was completed, the council said.

According to planning documents, the owner of the site - Oakland Hotels Ltd - wants to renovate the site, providing 29 bedrooms, a new restaurant and small conference and meeting facilities.

'Ashby's heritage'

It is estimated the reopening of the hotel will create 25 full-time and 25 part-time jobs, the papers say.

Council leader Richard Blunt said: "The planning permission granted to Oakland Hotels Ltd paves the way for the hotel's continued refurbishment and eventual reopening.

"It also demonstrates the owner's commitment to ensuring that the hotel remains an important and prominent part of Ashby's heritage.

"I am delighted that the Royal Hotel's future should now be secure, and that local people will be able to enjoy and appreciate this historic building for generations to come."