Members of Welshpool Town Council have voiced support for further renovations at the Grade II listed Llanerchydol Hall.

At a meeting of the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, August 7, councillors considered a new planning application submitted to Powys County Council by the current owners of Llanerchydol Hall, on the outskirts of Welshpool.

The applications cover a range of work as part of a project to create a health and wellbeing retreat in a significant part of the property by owners Ben Sutterby and Raj Saini.

These plans include erecting a covered porch, rebuilding the perimeter garden walls, repairing the woodstore roof, creating a car park area as well as an application for change of use to a health and wellbeing retreat.

OTHER NEWS:

Councillors at the committee meeting were generally supportive of the application, as well as the project as a whole.

Cllr Nick Howells abstained from voting on the application due to a personal interest in the project, but spoke in support of the project.

He said: “I’ve declared a personal interest, in that I got to know the owners a few years ago and been up to the hall and areas around it many times.

“I’m amazed by the transformation of how the hall has improved, from five years ago to what it is now. The works are hugely beneficial to the building. Because of my personal interest I’ll abstain from voting but I think they’re doing an excellent job.”

Cllr Estelle Bleivas added: “I agree with Cllr Howells, I think it will be of a high standard when it’s finished. It will be a big improvement.”

The building and renovation project has also been featured as part of an ongoing Channel 4 series ‘Help, We Bought a Hotel’, following several British people taking on large scale hotel developments.

The project was met with some pushback in the summer of 2023, when the owners were refused retrospective planning permission by the council for some of the works.

They were later served a temporary stop notice by Powys County Council when work at the site was reportedly still going on.