Hitch for labour of love at The Wrekin's landmark Halfway House

But Mr Saward has been frustrated in his bid to renovate the building by a planning process that is slow and cumbersome.

Now he faces having to pull down some of his building work, which he says he has carried out to benefit visitors to the hill in need of refreshment.

Mr Saward has had to apply for retrospective planning permission for new dormer windows and an outbuilding for a vending machine, after making the changes while unaware he needed planning permission.

He was also applying to build a carport nearby, but said he was happy to abandon the plans, and the house for the vending machine, if they were not suitable for the site.

Though officers had proposed refusal of the application, members of Telford & Wrekin Council's planning committee deferred their decision in order to make a site visit.

Mr Saward said he had fallen in love with the building. But he could be forced to abandon the project if he had to take down the changes that had already been made.

Speaking at their meeting on Wednesday at the Whitehouse Hotel, the 51-year-old said: "I'm not one of those wealthy out-of-town property developers, I wish I were.

"I wanted to take on the challenge getting it back as a facility for the thousands of people who use the Wrekin.

Now everything has been put on hold, and the builder I was working with has vanished."

Following the site visit, the plans will return to the planning committee.