The Angel Hotel, Midhurst

I am asked almost on a daily basis what I know about The Angel Hotel fire and what is going to happen to what is left of the former hotel. Having worked and lived at the hotel in my late teens, the building is particularly important to me, and seeing it in its current state is incredibly sad – not just for for me, but for the whole town. I will keep you advised on anything I hear, but in the meantime, this is a recent statement from Andrew Griffith MP>

Enough is enough!

No one thought that three years after the terrible fire Midhurst residents would still be staring up at the hoardings that protect the decaying wall of the Angel Inn. And it is simply unacceptable. In that period, other traders have gone to the wall and visitors drifted away.

The lack of progress to clear and rebuild the site to bring it back into use has been deeply felt by residents and businesses alike and enough is enough.

It is time we had a backstop plan in place with the council using their statutory compulsory purchase powers to ‘step in’, if a planning application is not now brought forward within the next few weeks.

I’m willing to play ‘honest broker’ on behalf the residents I represent to help all parties, but I am deeply concerned about the length of time this is taking and the damage being done.

I’m also repeating once again my call for Chichester District Council to repeat the financial grant of £300,000 to the town which was made shortly after the fire by a previous administration, but with no further similar grant since.