THE owners of a Hereford hotel have remained silent over rumoured plans to turn it into a new Lidl supermarket.

Speculation on social media started last week that plans had been submitted for a new shop in Belmont Road, on the site of the Three Counties Hotel.

But both the hotel and budget supermarket chain have remained silent on the plans.

But the Hereford Times understands that plans have been submitted, and the supermarket is due to hold talks with local parties this week.

OTHER NEWS:

While a planning application is understood to have been submitted, planners at Herefordshire Council can take around two weeks, or longer, to process documents.

  • Have you got a wedding, function or room booked at The Three Counties Hotel? Scroll to the bottom of the article to send us your thoughts.

Once they have been validated, plans appear publicly on the planning portal.

When approached by the Hereford Times, staff at the hotel said it was business as usual.

And after several days when reporters were finally able to reach the Harrison family, they responded to our questions with "no comment".

But the family, which has owned the hotel since 2016, said anyone concerned about any future bookings, such as for weddings or stays, should contact the venue directly.

Herefordshire Council's planning department has also not responded when asked if an application was in the process of being validated.

OTHER NEWS:

More than six years ago, the 60-bedroom purpose-built hotel was sold on behalf of Daniel Price and his family, who had owned and operated the hotel since 1995.

At the time it was said the new owners, Harry Harrison and his family from Oxfordshire, would invest in the well-established business.

FNH Hotels Ltd, which owns the hotel, has four directors. They are Fairus, Masih, Neeraj and Neeru. The registered address of the company, started in September 2015, is Wyevale Business Park, Hereford.