AN ICONIC Lake District hotel looks one step further towards re-opening it's doors after planning permission has been submitted to the national park authority for a design scheme to re-open the famous venue.

Sharrow Bay Hotel, on the shores of Ullswater, was closed in 2020 due to an outbreak of coronavirus in March that year; the company in charge of the iconic venue went into liquidation in September of the same year.

In January the Cumberland News reported for the first time that the venue looked set to be taken over by Cumbrian company, Ciel Hotels Ltd, based in Askham, after a 'significant investment' into Sharrow Bay.

In a statement of Ciel Hotels Ltd's full accounts for the year up to March 2023, published on Companies House on December 21, the company stated that they had secured the Sharrow Bay Hotel in Ullswater on a long lease, and are planning on moving their Michelin-star restaurant Allium to the venue, allowing an increased capacity for diners.

It has been reported that a design scheme for the hotel has now been submitted to the Lake District National Park authority by Ciel Hotels, a company whose directors include Charles Alexander James Lowther and Marie-Louisa Raeburn.

A strategic end-of-year report for the business, in the general overheads and structure section filed on Companies House in December 2023, said: "The directors have continued with their capital investment strategy in year and secured a long lease at a new location in the Lake District, Sharrow Bay.

"Sharrow Bay is an iconic site in the sector, renowned for being the first country house hotel in the UK and having an unrivalled setting overlooking Ullswater.

"The investment will allow the directors to move their Michelin star restaurant, Allium, to Sharrow Bay where there will be an increased capacity for diners.

"This capacity of 50-55 diners is a more balanced offering to the accommodation capacity that will be available at the new site.

"The directors have secured funding for this capital project via a mixture of equity and debt. It is a significant investment but in the opinion of the directors, the high profile renovation will result in the company running one of the best hotels in the Lake District."

Ciel Hotels Ltd. also own the George and the Dragon at Clifton, Askham Hall and the Queen's Head.

Sharrow Bay is famous as the place where Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney proposed to ex-wife Heather Mills, and for its association for the creation of sticky toffee pudding.

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