Bristol's Grosvenor Hotel to be demolished following huge fire

A vacant building opposite Bristol Temple Meads is set to be demolished, months after it was damaged by a large fire.

The owner received permission to tear down the former Grosvenor Hotel on Friday (14 April), meaning work could start imminently.

The eyesore has been derelict for more than 25 years despite efforts to restore, redevelop and compulsory purchase it.

The site was then damaged when a large blaze broke out on 18 October last year.

This was later found to have been started 'deliberately', according to the fire service.

Bristol City Council then had a magistrate's court order instructing the owner to make the building safe or to demolish it in November.

Nimish Popat and his company Earlcloud Ltd submitted an application to the council to see if they needed permission to demolish the building on 8 December.

It then took Bristol City Council’s planning team more than four months to decide that Earlcloud did need permission to, and that they could, demolish the building.

The planning team found the former hotel was not listed, nor was it in any kind of heritage area, meaning it could be torn down.

The report read: “It is noted that the building is in a perilous state, and is currently considered to be unsafe.

"However, this situation has specifically arisen as a result of recent fire, and there is no evidence before the LPA that this is as a result of any actions or inaction of any person with an interest in the land."

The council has plans to incorporate the area into the wider Temple Quarter regeneration scheme, with the future of the site a point of contention.

However, the local authority has no current agreement with Mr Popat or Earcloud.