Old hotel to make way for new building (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Old hotel to make way for new building

RESIDENTS are outraged that a former hotel in Lewis Lane, Cirencester, is to be demolished to make way for new housing.

It is not known exactly when the Victorian building will be pulled down, but the council has requested information about the proposal.

Cotswold District Council does not have the power to prevent the demolition, but it is required to okay the manner in which it is carried out.

However, residents have expressed dismay that Arkenside Hotel, situated adjacent to the old cinema site, is even under threat.

Diana Heywood, who is a designer in Daglingworth, said she was appalled to hear the news.

She told the Standard: "I am absolutely horrified. It never occurred to me that anybody would think of demolishing it.

"What is going to protect us from getting something that is inappropriate in its place. Lewis Lane is a really nice street with some lovely houses and we must make a stand. Why isn't the building listed? It is an architectural monument."

Mrs Heywood's feelings were echoed by Mark Parrish, who lives in The Avenue and can see the building from the back of his house.

He said: "I just felt that they would never knock it down. It's a nice piece of Victorian architecture.

"It has extensions which don't work at all but the actual building is really lovely. It is obviously easier for a developer to knock it down and start again, but it shouldn't be done.

"There is a huge amount of land behind it where they can build afresh and there isn't really much Victorian architecture in Cirencester."

CDC is currently waiting for details about the planned demolition from the owner of the former hotel.

Planning officer Faith Flynn said: "The owners are required to notify us they intend to demolish the building, but they cannot start until we have agreed the method of demolition."

The building is not a listed building and outside of the conservation area, but there is a scheduled ancient monument in the area so the council must consent to how it is brought down.

PH Gillingham Group, based in the Cotswolds, owns Arkenside Hotel, but it is yet to have submitted an application to rebuild.

However, it is likely housing of a traditional nature will be built on the site.