Island hotel scheme on hold for Euro cash (From Western Telegraph)

Island hotel scheme on hold for Euro cash

AMBITIOUS PLANS to create a luxury hotel on a Pembrokeshire island remain on hold two-and-a-half years after it was sold to developers.

The Van Essen Hotel group is awaiting £400,000 of Objective One funding before it can kick-start its multi-million pound fortress conversion on Thorne Island, near the entrance to the Milford Haven Waterway.

The group is planning to spend £4 million transforming the 19th century island fortress into a five star hotel. Planning permission has been in place for several months and includes a cable car link from the mainland. Project design architect Andrew Onraet says the company is reluctant to start construction work until grant funding has been confirmed.

There has always been a slight risk element because all our other projects have been existing hotels. We cant, at this stage, plough millions of pounds into a project that doesnt have any business from day one, he said. We are stuck in a rut because we cant start any work until Objective One funding comes through. We are in the same situation as we were in at the beginning of last year.

He is concerned that funding already granted by the Wales Tourist Board and the Welsh Development Agency could evaporate if work doesnt begin soon.

The Somerset-based leisure group insists it is not losing money on its acquisition, but there is a cost involved in protecting the fabric of the fortress.

Van Essen Hotels has no plans to withdraw from the project because it fits in well with its existing portfolio. The company specialises in converting historic buildings into luxury hotels and bought the two-acre island from Hertfordshire millionaire, Peter Williamson, in September 1999.

Despite the companys commitment to the development, Mr Onraet admits interest is waning. The longer this goes on the harder it gets to reawaken the interest of everyone involved, says Mr Onraet.

The contract builders had been ready to go in but we will have to go through the process all over again.

The development will be a landmark one for Pembrokeshire, believes Mr Onraet.