A FORMER hotel could be demolished to make way for new homes in Tow Law.

Michael Ratliff hopes to replace the vacant Helme Park Hall Hotel with nine houses after a scheme to convert the 19th century building into flats was found to be unviable due to high costs.

The hotel has been closed for some time and has been a victim of break-ins and vandalism in recent years. Most of the present building dates back to the 1800s but there are references to Helme Park dating back as far as 1340.

However, in a statement submitted with the planning application, historic building consultant Sarah Dyer concluded the building had largely lost its historic fabric.

She said there were better examples of early 19th century buildings in County Durham, adding:

“Its merits as a building of architectural or historic interest are limited, in part because of the many alterations that mean the building holds little interest and in part because it is not a great surviving example of this type of building.”

The public can comment on the application at durham.gov.uk until July 19.