LOCAL support has been shown for a plan to transform an empty hotel into a school for children with complex needs, following the town council’s objection on the grounds the loss of Westbury’s last hotel would be too much for the town to bear.
White Horse News previously reported that Compass Schools has applied to change the use of the 18th century Chalford House in Warminster Road to a part-day and part-residential education facility.
At the town council’s July meeting cllr Gordon King was unanimously supported when he said, “The closure of this hotel means there will be no bedrooms for anyone to stay in anywhere in Westbury, except for bed and breakfasts.
“To have a healthy and vibrant economy, places with rooms to stay in is a must – these are absolutely essential facilities for modern times.”
“The loss of this building would be too much for Westbury to bear.”
But Ashley Hunt, who ran Chalford House as Cedar Hotel for the last 10 years with his partner Rachel, told White Horse News, “Cllr Gordon King has no idea of how the business community works. Rachel and I have been running hotels in Westbury for the last 25 years; we started at the Lopes Inn in Westbury with eight bedrooms which we used to be able to fill.
“We then took the old Post Office in Westbury, turned that into an eight-bedroom boutique hotel, and subsequently we purchased the Cedar Hotel which had gone into bankruptcy. It is a 20-bedroom hotel which we have owned for the last 10 years. We spent a significant amount on upgrading the bedrooms and the public areas and initially did very well.
“Since then, there have been two Premier Inns that have opened – one in Trowbridge and one in Frome – that offer discount prices from anything between £25 and £35 per night, inclusive of breakfast. There is also the Travelodge in Warminster which has over 20 bedrooms and also offers budget accommodation.“
Ashley said that during the last three years they had found it impossible to compete with the budget hotel chains and for the last two years, the hotel had not made a profit.
“Unless you could demolish all the buildings including the listed building and build a modern efficient Premier Inn-style hotel, it can never make a profit,” he added.
“It is our intention to reopen the Garden House hotel, which has eight bedrooms and stands a chance of making a profit, when all the Covid restrictions are lifted.
“Compass has an excellent record of providing safe, secure and efficient accommodation and education to children that have not had the best start in life and Chalford House, after alterations, will provide this facility.”
Residents backed the plan on social media, saying, “currently the nearest specialist school is 40 mins travel each way, this area needs something like this”, and, “our kids and young adults with special needs travel miles to access an education…this is much needed in our community”.
But some supported the council’s view saying, “It’s a shame the hotel has closed. Was always the best place locally for wedding breakfasts and funeral teas. They always pulled out the stops for a wake. Couldn’t fault them at all. Wonderful settings for wedding photos as well. Shame that we have now lost our last hotel in Westbury. Maybe it will serve better for our special needs children and young adults, maybe when all the details about what that will entail comes out, we can all make a better judgement…
Another person said, “Westbury needs a hotel. I would suggest it’s easier to provide a place for children with special needs than lose the only hotel in Westbury.”
Chalford House Hotel dates from the 1700s and went into receivership in 2012 and was bought and refurbished by its new owners in 2013. There was a restaurant and bar with 20 bedrooms, as well as ground floor garden rooms, family and dog friendly rooms and a purpose-built disabled room.
Compass offers environments in which to support children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
