Town residents fear for future of treasured hotel

People living in a Shropshire town have said they fear for the future of a well-known local hotel.

The Royal Victoria Hotel in Newport has been closed since 2015 and the owner has said it might have to be demolished because of the state of the building.

Telford and Wrekin Council is due to carry out urgent repairs, and has said it wants to buy the Grade II listed building.

Local residents have said it used to be a focal point for the community, where big parties were often held, especially at Christmas.

June Jones told the BBC: "Us older ones can remember the times when we used to have Christmas dos there. It was the big hotel in the town.

"It was absolutely lovely, it's such a shame to have let it go."

Her partner, Keith Jones, added: "It used to be a hotel, it also used to be a place where you could go for a drink or a meal. We've lost all that."

Bernie Beech, who runs an antique shop close to the hotel, said: "I'm from Newport, so I'd love to see the building, or at least the facade if nothing else, stay as it is, but I don't think it's going to happen."

He said the likely cost of saving the building would be too high and added: "Probably the best solution to be honest, unfortunately, is that it comes down."

Mr Beech used to be in a band when he was younger and said he played at the hotel regularly.

He said: "I remember as a teenager going to dances and parties there on a Saturday night and it's part of Newport's history. Not just in my lifetime, but 100-plus years more."

Some people said they remembered the big Christmas parties local companies held there, with a piano player entertaining diners.

Mr Beech said: "It was also the place where everyone who got married in St Nicholas's Church had their reception."

The council has accused Roger Brock, the owner of the Royal Victoria Hotel, of failing to carry out necessary repairs.

But Mr Brock insisted the council had made unfair demands and added he would raise the matter with the government.

He 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.

Mr Brock has said demolition might be the best solution and the likely cost of repairing the building had left him with "no other option".

But the council has said it would not allow the hotel to be torn down.

The current work is due to last about 13 weeks and the council has said it will seek to recover all costs from the owner.

In a statement to the BBC, Mr Brock said council bosses had "consciously frustrated my efforts to implement the planning consent for 12 flats that the council passed in 2018".

He said he would be writing to the government asking it to intervene or order an inquiry.

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