NEW BARN FOR BATS
...so demolition of ‘eyesore’ hotel moves a step closer:
ACOLONY of bats will be rehoused to allow the demolition of a derelict hotel.
Harlech’s St David’s hotel was built in 1910 but local residents have raised concern over the eyesore building since its closure in 2008.
As a result, the Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) has now appointed a contractor to build a bat barn and offer a new home for the hotel’s colony of bats as they prepare for its eventual demolition.
This follows a long-running dispute between the authority and the hotel’s owners since the issuing of an enforcement notice in 2015 to demolish the building after it was declared unsafe.
Aitchison Associates has so far paid out £21,900 in fines for failing to comply with the enforcement notice.
A spokesperson for the SNPA said: “Although the demolition of the building is still subject to securing funding, the Authority is keen to address other issues to help facilitate the work should funding become available.
“A key issue here is the building of a structure within which the bats that currently reside in the hotel can be trans-located. All species of bats and their roosts are protected by law, and the authority is working with specialists ecologists on this issue.
“To this end the National Park Authority, with permission of the owners, have appointed a contractor to construct a small bat barn on the site.
“Weather permitting, work will take place on site between the beginning of January and mid March 2019.”
Jonathan Cawley, the SNPA’s director for planning and land management, added: “Constructing the bat barn is an important part in the process of removing the eyesore that is the derelict hotel.
“We will continue to pursue the issue of demolition, but there are still significant constraints to overcome - with financing the work being the primary issue.”
In 2009, Aitchison Associates was granted planning consent to demolish the building and replace it with a new 130 bedroom hotel and 76 holiday apartments, but these plans have never come to fruition.
But having resisted the previous Section 215 notice to demolish the hotel completely by April, 2017, the SNPA is now considering implementing Section 219, which allows authorities to undertake work by default and to then recover the costs from the owners.
According to the authority, the hotel’s “unsightly appearance seriously detracts from the surrounding vicinity and prevents the economic development of Harlech”.