Hopes of spring start for revamp of Grand (From Echo)

Hopes of spring start for revamp of Grand

1:00pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Ryan McCarthy

Looking to the future – the empty Grand Hotel in Leigh

WORK to revamp the Grand Hotel could start in the spring.

A planning application has been lodged with Southend Council for a spa in the basement of the dilapidated hotel in the Broadway, Leigh.

A decision is set to be made by April 12 and, according to plans, work would start immediately if permission was granted.

Mick Norcross, Brentwood businessman and star of reality TV show The Only Way is Essex, has now appointed Thundersley-based architects Stone Me! as agents for the project.

A statement from the firm said: “The hotel has had a chequered past, and in recent years has fallen into a state of disrepair with a lack of investment.

“It is proposed to refurbish the property and enhance its facilities so it can offer a first-class experience to its guests, as well as being one of the best hotels in Leigh and the surrounding area.

“All works proposed are to be carried out in a sympathetic way in order not to detract but enhance the fine architecture the building offers the street scene.”

The hotel, built in 1899, has been empty since December 2008.

Plans include splitting the ground floor to offer a restaurant and lounge bar, with a function room on the first floor, new kitchens and back-of-house areas.

Bedrooms will undergo substantial refurbishments and the application states the spa would help offer “a full weekend experience or a quality relaxing experience for the discerning traveller”.

The spa would include private rooms for treatments, a plunge pool, jacuzzi, steam room and cardio gym equipment.

Changes to the car park would increase the number of spaces from 18 to 25, and access would be changed from Leighton Avenue to the Broadway.