A DERELICT fire damaged hotel at Cliftonville, near Margate, should be demolished rather than left as an eyesore, says a councillor.

The boarded up Newbury Hotel in Norfolk Road, is unsightly for residents and gives a bad image of the area to visitors says ward councillor Sandy Ezekiel.

Cllr Sandy Ezekiel said: “It has been derelict since a fire some years ago. I have asked Thanet District Council several times to place a compulsory purchase order on the building because in this sort of case it is the only way forward. It should be demolished and the land should be sold on the open market for development, ideally for another hotel or guest house or good quality flats.”

Cllr Iris Johnston, cabinet member for tourism and leisure, said: “A good ward councillor would identify the owner, and inform building control officers and our environmental health department to ensure that the structure is safe and not a health hazard. We are dependent on ward councillors keeping us informed.

Cllr Ezekiel says he discussed the matter with Cllr Sid Farmer, cabinet member for land and properties, and was assured the cabinet would discuss it.

Cllr Ezekiel said: “I have traced the former owner who is a retired policeman who took on the hotel but sadly went bankrupt. If the council is aware of the problem with the Newbury Hotel and is monitoring the situation like it claims to be, why has nothing been done?”

Cllr Johnston said: “The council has spent a lot of time encouraging the owners of hotels, guests houses and other properties to improve properties with grants from Europe and the Single Regeneration Budget.

“In the last two summers, demand for bed space in Thanet has been high and at certain peak periods it has exceeded our bed stock proving that there is an increasing need for quality tourist beds.

“Substantial grants have already gone into Cliftonville to upgrade hotels - £225,000 has been provided which has in turn generated more than a million pounds worth of refurbishment work.”

Cllr Ezekiel said: “That is all very laudable but the fact is that since 1995, 45 hotels and guest houses in my ward have either closed or been converted into houses of multiple occupation.”