PERMISSION has been granted for planned works to go ahead at a dilapidated Herefordshire hotel.

Millionaire Alfie Best wants to turn the derelict Hop Pole Hotel, in Bromyard's Market Square, into a five-star venue.

The hotel, which has been a long-decaying sight in the town centre, was bought in 2019 by Alfie Best, founder and chair of Wyldecrest Parks which owns Sapey Golf and Saltmarsh Castle Residential Park, who said the refurb would save the "dying town".

Planning permission to make the changes was initially applied for in the autumn of 2021, but Herefordshire Council had not made a decision until this month.

The application, initially made for proposed internal alterations, attic conversion, additional rooflights, demolition of a rear single-storey extension and replacement larger extension, reinstatement of a historic window, ramped disabled access to front entrance, and a dining area was approved with conditions on February 10.

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Planners said development on the site cannot state until details of a construction traffic access location, parking for site operatives, a construction traffic management plan, and details of secure fencing during works are submitted and approved by the local authority.

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A scheme for the provision of storage and disposal of all waste materials must also be submitted and approved by Herefordshire Council planners.

And construction must start within three years of the permission being given, while the ecological protection, working methods scheme, and detailed biodiversity net gain enhancements detailed in an ecology report submitted during the planning process must be fully implemented and maintained.

Listed Buildings Consent has also been approved with conditions for the development.