Historic hotel built in 1870 could be demolished to build new flats

A historic Wirral hotel could be demolished to allow for more than a dozen flats to be built.

The Hollins Hey Hotel in New Brighton has been part of the landscape since it was built in 1870 and many were sad to hear of its eventual closure. But Thursday’s meeting of Wirral Council’s Planning Committee will debate plans to knock it down and build 14 new flats.

Last year it was reported that former owner Ian Carruthers blamed a “dramatic reduction in turnover and profitability” after the recession in 2008-11 for the hotel’s closure and that while the development at Marine Point had increased footfall, the “most damaging aspect” had been the opening of the budget Travelodge.

This led to a planning application being submitted to Wirral Council in 2018 from a Wallasey-based developer who wanted to bulldoze the hotel on Victoria Road and replace it with 14 “high quality contemporary” apartments with glass and marble finishings. These plans were refused by the council and refused again in May 2019 when the initial decision was appealed.

The hotel was then put on sale in October 2020 as a three bedroomed house with sea views. The Victorian property was listed by Purplebricks who suggested it could lend itself to multiple occupancy living, creating around 12 apartments.

They priced the four storey mansion at £695,000 with a large plot of land including gardens and enough parking space for 20 vehicles. It remained open as a hotel but was eventually removed from Rightmove and a new planning application went into Wirral Council last year.

The design and access statement submitted to the council said the plan has a new team who are taking the project “forward in a fresh direction”. The new application reduces the design from five storeys to four, a reduction in floor area, and will take up a more central position on the site compared with the previous plans.

Wirral Council’s Planning Committee will meet at 6pm at New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion tomorrow to decide whether to approve or reject the proposal.