THE owner of a Weaverham hotel which appeared to be closing has clarified his plans for its future.

It comes after permission to convert Oaklands Hotel, on Millington Lane, into a dwelling was extended by Cheshire West and Chester Council upon request.

David McGrogan has confirmed that it is not his intention to close the hotel, with the reason for the planning applications being to explore future possibilities should he be forced to close.

And in fact, he revealed that the hotel has recently undergone refurbishment and is looking forward to welcoming customers back after reopening following the coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said: “We will 100 per cent not be closing.

“There are a few planning applications in place, including for an additional 14 bedrooms and for conversion into a single-use dwelling, which was renewed recently.

“We also applied for a conversion into two dwellings, but we are not closing the hotel down.

“Recently, we’ve spent a lot of money on the hotel, refurbishing internally and externally, and this work is ongoing.”

Among the refurbishments carried out is improvements to the Willow Suite to make the room lighter and more appealing for weddings by fitting new curtains, drapes and designs.

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Garden areas are to be landscaped and upgrades have been made to the entrance area and outside terrace area with granite tables.

Bedrooms have been improved and the bar area upgraded, with new taps being fitted and a new cellar cooling system to keep a new drinks range extra cold.

“We are open now and we want people to come and support us,” David added.

“We don’t want to close down and we know there are a lot of people who do like the Oaklands and will want to come here now that we’ve started operating again

“You have to have some security in place in case plan A doesn’t work, but in these difficult times, the hotel is looking forward to providing a service to regular locals and the expanding community.”