WORK to convert a landmark former hotel into luxury flats and houses looks finally set to be finished in the next couple of months.

Hundred House Hotel off Worcester Road in Great Witley is due to be converted into a mix of houses and flats and a pub after closing in 2013.

Discussions between the developer and Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) have been going on for several years after plans to convert the hotel were first submitted.

An application with some slight changes was withdrawn by developer Witley Hundred Ltd in December after permission was earlier approved in July for several other alterations to the layout of the building and the car park.

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An application for a pub and a mix of 19 mainly two-bedroom houses and flats – including a rear extension which had already been granted permission – was put forward in 2014.

The new owners called for an in-depth survey and full review of the former hotel which found “severe doubts” over whether the later extensions to the building would be suitable enough to be converted to flats as they were of such poor quality and would be too expensive to fix.

The review by planning consultants R.A. Watkins in March 2015 said the later extensions were of “dubious architectural quality.”

Due to the poor quality of the extensions, it was proposed the later extensions would be torn down with the homes and flats built across the space it already had permission to extend on.

The plan by Witley Hundred Ltd, submitted in March 2015, was approved by MHDC in April 2016. Permission to build a gym for residents was granted in 2017.

Historic England criticised the developer for controversially demolishing the majority of the barn on the site in 2018.

Consultants Blackwell said the wood structure was "beyond saving" which resulted it in being demolished and rebuilt with the planned row of homes rather than refurbished. Conservation officers at MHDC said the council was not made aware of the issues before demolition went ahead.