THE owners of Crewe Hall had a double reason to celebrate last week as the landmark looks set to become a fully fledged hotel.

At a meeting of the borough council's planning committee on Thursday, members agreed to give the green light to plans for the building to house 24-bedrooms.

The decision came hot on the heels of the news that Cheshire County Council had decided to allow all stateley homes, including Crewe Hall, to perform wedding ceremonies on Sundays.

Joint owner Philip Humphries said the first phase of the hotel's development had raised concerns from English Heritage, which were dropped before Christmas.

"They wanted to be sure that what we were planning was right for the hall and didn't destroy its history and heritage," he said.

"We are actually doing nothing to the grand state rooms and if anything, we will be enhancing them. They are now convinced that what we are doing is the best solution for preserving the hall.

"The plans include the bedrooms, kitchens and a restaurant which will enable us to function properly as a four-star hotel."

Mr Humphries said around £2million would be spent on the hotel in the next six months in a bid to have all bedrooms open by the start of August.

"By then we will be employing about another 25 people. We already employ 25," he said.

"We will move onto phase two in the next few months and we hope to put in a planning application for around 90-100 bedrooms and a complete leisure complex with swimming pool."

"We purchased the Hall in February last year and it has taken 11 months to get through planning, but we are pleased to have finally got there."

Mr Humphries said the county council's decision on Sunday weddings was a boost because they were in high demand.

"We were already licensed for weddings but people always wanted to get married on the prime Saturdays in June, July and August, and very quickly those dates got filled," he said.

"Now we are keeping up with other counties and we are obviously delighted. We have already had four inquiries about Sunday weddings since last week."

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