Two years after losing their fight to save the Ivy House Hotel from closure, tourism bosses have been told that Marlborough is in need of a boutique hotel.
The 36-bedroom, £95-a-night Ivy House was sold to Marlborough College in 2012 for conversion into a girls’ boarding house, in the face of vociferous campaigning.
At the time, Wiltshire Council’s planning committee agreed with Marlborough Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and others saying the closure “would result in the loss of an important tourist facility within the Marlborough area.”
But a government planning inspector backed an appeal lodged by Marlborough College, agreeing with the hotel’s owner that the Ivy House had become unviable as a hotel business.
Now, a major report commissioned by VisitWiltshire and Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership singles out the town for the establishment of a boutique hotel – small, luxury establishments in the manner of those operated by well-known brands like Hotel du Vin and Malmaison, and with rooms priced at around £150 per night.
Based on research by consultants Hotel Solutions, Wiltshire & Swindon Visitor Accommodation Futures, provides an assessment of the future opportunities for hotel and visitor accommodation developments across the county, as a way of growing the tourism sector and creating new jobs.
The authors of the report – the first of its kind in Wiltshire – say: “There is potential for the development of small boutique hotels in Bradford on Avon, Corsham, Malmesbury, Marlborough and Devizes, to cater for leisure stays and the top end of the local corporate market.
“The developer survey [in which the report’s authors contacted hotel operators to gauge possible interest] found some boutique hotel interest in Marlborough.”
They go on to say: “There is a clear need and opportunity for additional boutique inn provision in the Marlborough area… to cater for demand from shooting parties.”
And, perhaps ironically, the report identifies “People attending the Marlborough College Summer School,” and “Parents of students at Marlborough College,” as potential guests.
Wiltshire currently has 58 hotels with a total of 2,004 letting bedrooms, but the authors note: “There appear to be very few hotels in Wiltshire that are offering the more contemporary style of hotel that is starting to emerge in other parts of the country.
“The county needs more of these types of accommodation if it to compete successfully in the future and attract new markets that are currently going elsewhere.”
The authors say one of the aims of the report is to influence and direct planning applications – something that came too late for campaigners trying to save the Ivy House.
Marlborough Town Council, meanwhile, is pinning its hopes on the construction of a budget hotel on the edge of the town, as part of the Salisbury Road housing development.
