MANOR REBORN

Multi-million investment is on track for landmark

THE owners of this hotel say they have agreement in principle to push on with a near £5m expansion that they say will create 22 new jobs.

Paul and Rowena Williams took over the running of Seiont Manor, near Llanrug, last year with ambitions to extend it and encourage more local people to visit.

The £4.6m plans include extending the restaurant with a new lake-view terrace, improving changing and spa facilities and adding treatment rooms, plus building a lakeside function suite with bedrooms above and luxury lodges in the 21-acre grounds.

They say discussions with planning officers had been “fruitful” and now plan to submit a detailed planning application.

Rikki Reynolds, operations director for hotel owners Rural Retreats & Leisure, said: “This is a major step forward and would provide a much needed source of income to make the hotel sustainable and improve the facilities.”

But he added: “This alone will not secure the future of the hotel. Other income streams are required to ensure the long term sustainability of the hotel and to safeguard its employees’ future.” Additional plans include luxury lodges among the 21 acres of farm land beside the river Seiont.

Mr and Mrs Williams submitted a pre-planning application earlier this year and have recently received preapplication advice, which approved the proposal in principle.

To ensure the local ecology of the site is preserved and enhanced, a number of specialist reports have been commissioned. Simon Humphreys, chief ecologist from Land and Heritage, who is working for RRL on the project, said: “Currently visitors to the hotel see little of the stunning countryside at Seiont and this scheme will enable guests to experience and appreciate the quality of its habitats and landscape.

“Seiont is home to a range of important protected species, including bats, owls and otters, and we will be taking care to ensure all wildlife features are retained and enhanced.

“Sensitive areas will be fully protected. The scheme will enable us to extend and improve the existing wetlands and woodlands which have been neglected for many years.”

RRL’s sister hotel, nearby Plas Glynllifon, which is due to open in the autumn of 2020, is also under restoration by Mr and Mrs Williams, who hope to run the two hotels in tandem.