A MILLIONAIRE businessman is undeterred by the Covid-19 pandemic and pledges he will restore a Herefordshire hotel to its former glory – if the council lets him.

Alfie Best, who runs leisure business Wyldecrest Parks, was 382nd on the Times Rich List in 2020 and has a net worth of more than £340 million.

He bought The Hop Pole Hotel in Bromyard 18 months ago, but any major work has yet to start as he wrangles with Herefordshire Council planners.

Mr Best, 50, wants to turn the neglected 18-room hotel, which is a focal point in the town's market square, into a five-star hotel, bar and restaurant.

Hereford Times: The ground floor of the Hop Pole in Bromyard's town square The ground floor of the Hop Pole in Bromyard's town square

Hereford Times: There are plans to increase the number of roomsThere are plans to increase the number of rooms

He said in December 2019, after buying the hotel, that he would plough £1.2 million into the hotel.

There has been some work undertaken at the hotel, with a specialist asbestos removal company seen at the site earlier this month.

"We're as frustrated with it as most to be fair, I'm not going to blame Covid or this, that or the other," Mr Best said.

"We found it completely infuriating that we put in for pre-application planning, and before that can be done we've needed all sorts of surveys, from bat surveys to asbestos surveys, and this is just pre-application."

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"So to say it's been slowed down through the planning process is putting it mildly.

"We are committed to try and make it work financially and commercially as ever.

"The next thing we've got to do, believe it or not, is a bat survey, which is fine, but I don't see what that has to do with it [pre-application].

"Surely those sorts of surveys, in my opinion, should be done if planning permission is granted, not the other way around."

Hereford Times: There is a bar on the ground floor, and the new owner plans to open a restaurant in the cellar There is a bar on the ground floor, and the new owner plans to open a restaurant in the cellar

Hereford Times: The current kitchenThe current kitchen

Mr Best said delays with the planning process could stop investors ploughing their money into Herefordshire towns.

"If the councils are not more welcoming and not more supportive and helpful of local businesses, and businesses coming in to invest in the area and don't try and help them through, how on earth is there ever going to be any investment? They're just going to go into other town."

Herefordshire Council did not respond when approached by the Hereford Times.