The family behind Hotel Savoy have decided to put the premises on the market after a bruising planning battle that cost them around £250,000.
Plans to demolish the well-known hotel and replace it with 53 ‘eco-townhouses’ were finally approved last year following a lengthy and contentious appeal process.
The 3,480m² site is now being marketed for £6.25m as a “development opportunity” with planning permission in place.
Following queries from Express about the sale, Savoy Hotel director Roberto Lora explained that the planning permission was always an “integral component of a long-term exit strategy” for his family.
“Securing this permission forms part of a broader strategic initiative aimed at enhancing the marketability of the Savoy site,” he said.
Unveiling the first iteration of the plans in June 2021, Mr Lora said the hotel had been “fighting a losing battle” to stay relevant to the ever-changing tourism market.
The first refusal was in April 2022 due to a lack of detail on the impact of the proposed development on neighbouring properties, and the fact that the application did not include an ecological assessment, nor was there a waste management plan nor details of the project’s ‘percentage for art’ contribution.
A revised application published in November 2022 included these new elements, as well as an assessment of the impact of the proposed development on neighbours’ sunlight and daylight.
But those proposals were unanimously rejected in May 2024 amid continuing concerns over the impact on neighbouring properties.
Following the rejection in May, Mr Lora told Express he felt his family and business’s experience raised “concerns about the competence and effectiveness of the planning department”.
He claimed that Government “incompetence” had cost his family around a quarter-of-a-million pounds, and warned that it would lead to a “loss of crucial family housing opportunities for locals”.
The planning permission we diligently pursued was always an integral component of a long-term exit strategy that our family has been considering for the hotel
Roberto lora, director of the savoy hotel
The proposals were finally recommended for approval in February 2024 under the conditions that at least 15% of the residential units were assisted purchase homes, and that the site owners make contributions to the ‘percentage for art’ scheme and towards the improvement of the Eastern Cycle Route Network.
But Mr Lora said the “significant development project” falls outside the scope of his family’s “expertise and aspirations”.
“As a family with a rich history spanning decades within the hospitality sector, we have come to recognise that undertaking a significant development project falls outside the scope of our expertise and aspirations,” he explained.
“Consequently, the intention has consistently been to market the hotel site to experienced developers through a suitable agent.”