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£2 million wedding venue plan for fire-gutted Bridgnorth hotel

Formal plans have been revealed to bring back a fire-gutted Shropshire hotel as an exclusive wedding venue.

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The Mill at Alveley, near Bridgnorth, is set to become a dedicated wedding-only venue if plans just submitted to Shropshire Council are approved.

Ben and Sarah Reeves, who run hospitality firm Ensarb Ltd, bought The Mill last year after the complex was razed to the ground in a devastating fire in May.

They said at the time that they intended to invest £2 million in the project to bring the venue back to life.

Now detailed plans have been lodged with Shropshire Council, and await the green light from the authority.

A planning statement by CTD Architects on behalf of the couple, says the plan is to rebuild the hotel as a different kind of venue – one that will host only weddings, one at a time, using the whole site for everything from dinner and reception party to the ceremony itself.

It says: "(Ben and Sarah's) experience over the last nine years has demonstrated that the modern couple are not looking for a traditional hotel or hall for their wedding celebration – and indeed many of these traditional venues are struggling in the developing market place, the former Mill Hotel being a case in point.

"This new proposal for the site is a different concept.

"It is one of an exclusive use for the wedding couple and their guests for the whole of their wedding day and night, hence it has a smaller overall capacity and overhead – catering for up to 175 guests, rather than up to 550 as had been possible previously on the site, the development impact is therefore also much smaller."

The planning statement adds: "The proposal is to re-build and re-design the hotel as a new boutique hotel and hospitality venue in the form of three single-storey, double-height, inter-connected oak-framed barns capable of hosting wedding parties, plus overnight bedroom accommodation of 32 rooms for wedding guests and staff accommodation.

"All of these buildings will be newly designed and built on the footprint of the existing demolished hotel and part of the existing extensive tarmac car park."

It says guests will arrive and be directed to have pre-ceremony refreshments in one building, called Mill Stone Barn, then move to another, Mill Wheel Barn, for the ceremony, before returning once more the reception building.

"Food will be served in yet another building, Mill Pond Barn, as well as post-dinner entertainment confined to it."

The project is expected to create about 50 local jobs.

Mr Reeves said: "Its picture-perfect waterside setting and eight acres of stunning gardens, all surrounded by glorious Shropshire countryside, make it perfect for a wedding venue."

The couple say their intention is for the build to be complete by Christmas this year and for the Mill to be open by Spring 2017.

The pair have previously renovated The Ashes at Endon in Staffordshire, which was winner of the West Midlands Best Wedding Venue at the National Wedding Industry Awards, and have also run Pendrell Hall in Codsall Wood.

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