Call to give derelict Telford hotel a new lease of life

Calls were today made for urgent action to be taken to bring a derelict eyesore hotel in Telford back into use.

Councillor Mike Ion described the 'awful' old Charlton Arms Hotel in Wellington as 'shabby and unkempt'.

The borough ward member said the building gave visitors totally the wrong impression of the town, and said something should be done as soon as possible to improve it.

Councillor Ion has been in contact with the planning department at Telford & Wrekin Council to ask if any development proposals for the building in Church Street could be speeded up.

He said the whole site was now looking grim with many local residents describing it as the 'shame of Wellington'.

A planning application to partially demolish the site and build 37 apartments and four two-bedroom terraced homes was proposed in 2010 but talks on the proposal seem to have stalled.

Councillor Ion said: "I ha- ve asked the planning dep- artment to see what more can be done to ensure an ap- propriate, locally acceptable and above all speedy resolution to the saga that is the redevelopment of the former Charlton Arms Hotel.

"The hotel is extremely well known in Wellington and at one stage it was the main, if not the only, hotel in the town.

"It has just been derelict for four or five years and there seems to be no solution, but we have to find a solution to it – it just looks awful."

He added: "For most visitors it is one of the first things they see, so it gives the impression of Wellington being a run-down town, a place with no aspiration and no hope but that is not what Wellington is about.

"I want a long-term solution, but in the short term I want a scheme to soften the facade, anything that enhances it because at the moment it just looks awful," he said.

"After years of being empty the front of the Grade II listed building looks shabby and unkempt."

Councillor Ion said he had called for suggestions for the site using social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

He said: "One of the best suggestions was to use it as an arthouse cinema with 40 seats and a cafe, so people are coming up with ideas and that's the type of vision we need."

By Judith Sanders