Urgent work to prevent hotel collapse finished

Urgent work to prevent a former hotel from collapsing has been completed, Telford and Wrekin Council has said.

The work at the Grade II-listed Royal Victoria Hotel in Newport, Shropshire, would reduce the rate of its deterioration, the local authority added.

It was carried out by the council amid a legal dispute with the building's owner Roger Brock over the site's future.

Brock previously said the existing structural damage to the hotel, which closed in 2015, meant demolition was his only option and the council had made unfair demands.

Councillor Carolyn Heally said the St Mary's Street building was "an important part of Newport's heritage" and the authority was "determined to protect it".

She said the work would provide protection from weather exposure "in order to prevent further damage and prevent the structure collapsing".

"At the same time, we continue to pursue a long term solution through the compulsory purchase process," Heally added.

Brock previously told the BBC that delays in developing the site had been caused by planning issues and asbestos, before the Covid pandemic meant the situation worsened.

He expressed a desire to see the building demolished after a report highlighted structural damage that he said left him with "no other option".

Brock said at the time council bosses had "consciously frustrated my efforts to implement the planning consent for 12 flats that the council passed in 2018".

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

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