Appeal hears Manor not viable as a hotel
UPGRADING Manor Hotel into a two- or three-star hotel would not be a viable option, the company which wants to convert it into a residential care home argued yesterday.
Guernsey Buildings Developments made its case on the second day of a unique appeal against the non-determination of a planning application.
In his closing statement to the appeal panel, Advocate Peter Ferbrache, who represented the company, said he believed from the evidence given that the relevant planning policies had been met.
He used basic pricing guidelines from Commerce and Employment to show that when the cost of refurbishing the hotel – estimated at around £9m. in a report to support the application – was weighed up against running either a two- or three-star establishment, there would be no reasonable return.
Commerce and Employment chief officer Jason Moriarty said the board was not satisfied that the appellant's case that a hotel would not be viable had been made.
He said board members had raised concerns with the 'ambiguity of the figure work' provided by the applicant and felt the statistics in the report were 'out of touch' with reality.
