THE demolition of an eyesore hotel seems a step closer after national park bosses put the work out to tender.

Harlech’s St David’s hotel has fallen into a serious state of disrepair since its closure in 2008, with local concerns over the state of the building.

This has led to a long-running dispute between the Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) and the hotel’s owners since the issuing of an enforcement notice in 2015 to demolish the building after it was declared unsafe.

In a further development, the SNPA revealed in January that it was building a bat barn to offer a new home for the hotel’s colony of bats as they prepare for its eventual demolition.

This, they said, was a necessity before demolition could start with a new report confirming the barn has now been finished.

“The Authority are exploring the possibility of initiating ‘direct action’ under Section 219, to attempt to secure the demolition of the hotel,” notes the report that was presented to the authority’s Planning Committee on Wednesday, 22 May.

“Construction of the bat barn is complete. The bat barn is to potentially facilitate the demolition of the hotel (but subject to achieving the necessary funding).

“Tender documentation for the demolition of St David’s Hotel has been published on Sell2Wales.

“The deadline for any tender bids was noon on Wednesday, 22 May.”

In 2009, Aitchison Associates was granted planning consent to demolish the building and replace it with a new 130 bedroom hotel and 76 holiday apartments, but these plans have never come to fruition.

But having resisted the previous Section 215 notice to demolish the hotel by April, 2017, a Section 219 allows authorities to undertake the work by default and to then recover the costs from the owners.

Aitchison Associates, has so far paid out £21,900 in fines for failing to comply with the previous enforcement notice.

According to the SNPA, the hotel’s “unsightly appearance seriously detracts from the surrounding vicinity and prevents the economic development of Harlech”.

In January Jonathan Cawley, the Snowdonia National Park Authority’s director for planning and land management, said: “Constructing the bat barn is an important part in the process of removing the eyesore that is the derelict hotel.

“We will continue to pursue the issue of demolition, but there are still significant constraints to overcome – with financing the work being the primary issue.”