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Rising from the ashes: Historic Mill Hotel to open again after devastating arson attack

The finishing touches are being put to the multi-million pound transformation of the historic Mill Hotel.

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Rising from the ashes, the venue in Alveley, near Bridgnorth, was burnt to the ground in an arson attack in 2015.

Now it is being transformed back into a wedding venue as part of a £3 million project.

Three single-storey oak-framed barns are being built providing space for wedding parties of up to 170, plus on-site accommodation for 50 to 60 guests.

Around 50 jobs will be created when the venue has been constructed later this year, ready for the summer wedding season.

Ben and Sarah Reeves, who run Ensarb Estates, bought the site at auction for almost half a million last year.

The couple have previously renovated The Ashes at Endon, in Staffordshire, and also ran Pendrell Hall in Codsall Wood.

Mr Reeves said a number of weddings had already been booked for the site later this year.

Owner Ben Reeves takes a look at The Mill Barns, Alveley, Bridgnorth, which is preparing to reopen for the summer season

He said: "It's all on schedule to hold our first wedding in July.

"We've got people travelling from all over the country to come here and get married.

"People are blown away by the whole style of it.

"We're getting pretty booked up for weddings this year and going forward into the years ahead.

"It's something very different, there's nothing quite like it."

The previous hotel, which overlooked picturesque gardens and a pool, dated back to the 16th century and was popular with couples tying the knot from across the Midlands.

The former flour mill shut its doors unexpectedly in late September 2014.

Staff were left locked out and couples faced a battle over wedding deposits.

Then it was burned down in May 2015, creating one of the biggest blazes firefighters have had to deal with in the county of Shropshire.

Firefighters remained on the scene for four days after the hotel complex was completely destroyed.

Crews continued to dampen down and search for hot spots for days after.

In July 2015, the hotel was bought for £490,000 through Cottons auctioneers.

The final total ended up being nearly double the original guide price.

The former hotel, which sits within 7.9 acres of land on the A442 Bridgnorth to Kidderminster road, had been left as a shell of its former glory having been completely destroyed by arsonists. Mr and Mrs Reeves hope to bring a happy ending to the saga by again bringing life to the Mill site.

Speaking last year, Mr Reeves said: "There will be an outdoor pond on top of one building, with a bridge leading people over, it will be a very impressive entrance.

"It's like doing a traditional building as a new build.

We're trying to make it all as natural as possible.

"That includes adding grass roofs to the accommodation buildings.

"All of our venues are completely exclusive use and they're all in different sorts of settings. "There's not many places with purpose-built wedding venues.

Aerial shots revealed the true devastation of the arson attack

"We've got people travelling from all over the country to have a look which is fantastic.

"We have had a huge amount of interest and people have fully booked their weddings before there was any building at all.

"We have viewings in hard hats and high-vis vests."

Mr Reeves said nothing from the previous establishment could be saved after the fire. It meant the team had to start the rebuilding process completely from scratch.

He said: "From what I hear from the local people they were very pleased it wasn't going to turn into a housing development.

"The thing that attracted us to this was the established setting."

For further information about the new-look wedding venue, to request a brochure or to arrange visit, search for the new website, www.themillbarns-venue.co.uk, search for the venue's Facebook page or call the venue direct on 01746 781041.

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