An Ashby councillor has welcomed the chance to assess revised plans for the redevelopment of the Royal Hotel site - which have gone before North West Leicestershire District Council.

Two years on from the last planning application, updated documents, amounting to 50 pages, were re-submitted earlier this week.

And images showing how the redevelopment will look have also been made public on the district council's website.

The application now reads: Erection of a 30 apartment terrace, office building, cafe kiosk and 69 bed care home with associated car parking access, landscaping and associated access amendments.

It represents real progress with the hotel lying empty and boarded up for the last four years.

That has caused concern among Ashby residents that the almost-200 year old building might be allowed to crumble.

Only this month, a Save The Royal Hotel group was formed with a public meeting planned for January 30.

The opportunity to see the new plans has been given a cautious welcome by Ashby councillor David Bigby, who has been vocal on the future of the Royal and highlighted the revised application.

He says that the modifications to the new building are not as 'damaging' as suggested by the original plans.

Cllr Bigby told Ashby Nub News: "Overall, I'm very relieved that, after two years of waiting, we at last have a clear set of plans for the proposed developments accompanied by a financial case for why they are claimed to be required in order to fund restoration and reopening of the Royal Hotel.

"This will allow Ashby residents to examine the finances, which have previously been shrouded in mystery, in detail.

"There appear to be some significant modifications to the design of the apartments as well as the new care home, which I hope will make the new buildings less damaging to the setting of the hotel than the original proposals.

"I will be very interested in Historic England's views on this.

"But, probably most importantly, we appear to have a detailed mechanism set out whereby we can be assured that the proceeds from these developments will have to be used for the Hotel refurbishment.

"This is Historic England's "Enabling Development" process.

"The funds generated from the developments will have to be deposited into an Escrow account and can only be drawn down for use on the hotel.

"Of course, I will need reassurance from the financial experts that this mechanism is foolproof, but initial appearances are encouraging."

The Royal has been run by a company called Oakland Hotels which included locally-based Simon Dawson as one of its directors.

Local councillors say the hotel building has been allowed to deteriorate and, last November, the vacant building was added to Historic England's 'at risk' register.

The Royal Hotel, originally called the Hastings Hotel, was built in 1826 to accommodate visitors to the growing spa in Ashby.

It has a Doric porte-cochère - a covered entrance large enough for vehicles to pass through - and additional Doric columns in its hall inside.