Newport traders relieved as road reopens following repairs at dangerous hotel

Business owners on St Mary's Street are celebrating the reopening of the cobbled road after work to make a dilapidated hotel safe was completed last week.

Following an investigation by Telford & Wrekin Council and an inspection by the Health and Safety Executive, the owner of the Royal Victoria Hotel was ordered to make the building safe.

When he failed to meet the court deadline, the council stepped in to get the work done. The road and footpath directly outside the building were closed in February, in the interests of public safety.

After repairs were delayed by the discovery of unapproved works to the Grade II listed building, the exclusion zone was finally lifted on Friday, when work was completed.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Council said: “We’ve had a team of experts working on site to get the work done as quickly as possible.

“The footpath directly in front of the hotel will remain closed but an alternative route for pedestrians will be put in place so that there is safe movement for people on foot and in vehicles along St Mary’s Street.

“We would like to thank the community for their patience whilst we have made the building safe.”

Traders on St Mary's Street were relieved to see cars and pedestrians back on the cobbles, after two months of struggling with the interruption.

Tom Peach, who owns Sluice Juice, said he was doing 75 per cent less business while the road was closed and was over the moon to see people walking down the cobbled street again.

"I made more on Saturday than I did for the whole week prior," Tom said.

"It's good but it does go to show what we lost. I am relieved it is back up and running as it was.

"It is strange how much a little inconvenience can impact things. When it's not straightforward, people will go elsewhere. We lost 75 per cent of our trade over two months, that's huge."

Bernard Beech, who runs Gilby’s Antiques, Vintage, Retro and Collectibles, previously said the road closure has also lost him around 70 per cent of his custom, while Wok 'n' Roll reported a 30 per cent loss in trade.

Andy Wright, manager at Tylers Gas & Electrical, said they had been very lucky to escape a dramatic impact, but had seen a definite downturn in browsing customers.

He explained: "We've been very fortunate, in that we deal mostly with 'distress purchases', things have broken and need replacing and people will climb over walls to get it.

"But we did lose browsing trade. The street is always full of cars, all day, and people come in and browse and that is what shopping in Newport is all about.

"We had a really good Saturday, and we're really glad to see it all back open."

The hotel dates back to 1830 and gained its name from Queen Victoria who visited the hotel in 1832. In its heyday, it featured a grand ballroom and cocktail bar. It closed to the public in 2015.

Failure by the owner to comply with the magistrates' order means that the council will look to recover the cost of repairs from the owner, the authority has said it will continue to ensure the owner meets his legal responsibilities in connection with listed building regulations.