Demolition of crumbling historic hotel gets green light

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to demolish part of a crumbling Grade II listed hotel have been approved.

Consent has been given for the partial demolition of the Corbett Arms Hotel by Cyngor Gwynedd’s planning committee.

Support work to stabilise the remaining structure of the historic hotel will also take place.

The work on the three-storey Grade II listed former hotel was approved at the planning committee meeting held on Monday (April 27).

The grand town centre hotel was once a potent symbol of the thriving seaside town’s boom time and was famous for attracting celebrities including the Beatle John Lennon and his family in 1969.

Built in the early 19th century, with extension and re-fronting around 1900, the site ceased being a hotel in 2009.

Following the death of its owner the privately owned building was left to fall into disrepair and neglect.

In December 2025, Cyngor Gwynedd agreed to spend £1.5m to help make the building safe.

Collapse 

Two collapses at the rear of the main building, in January and February 2025, prompted calls for it to be knocked down.

It led to an outcry from locals and heritage building professionals, before a change of heart came after the council “received further information” and a revised plan was developed proposing a reduced demolition scheme.

Presenting the application, council planning officer Gwawr Hughes said: “Following receipt of further information, the total amount of demolition work has been reduced and now only concerns the rear of the building.”

The building work had now been divided into eight zones.

“Initially the proposal had involved the demolition of zones 1-5 based on the structural stability of the building due to health and safety grounds following the recent collapse,” Ms Hughes said.

“For clarity, zones 4 and 2 are the areas which collapsed in January and February 2025.

“Following assessment of the initial application, the scale of this demolition has now been reduced to only include the rear area.

“The revised proposal seeks listed building consent to demolish zones 1, 2, 4 and part of zone 5 along with stabilisation and work to protect it from the weather.”

The new plan represented “a significant reduction” in the previous proposed work and was in response to a public consultation, the meeting was told.

Dragging on 

Speaking at the meeting, local member Cllr John Pughe said he couldn’t understand how the situation surrounding the once “beautiful and iconic” hotel had been allowed “to drag on”.

“I went into the premise four years ago with some officers from Gwynedd and in my opinion it was viable then,” he said.

“Now due to water ingress, I understand some parts are very unstable and you have cottages joined on and if anything comes down, it could put life at risk.

“The premises bring a lot of good memories to the people of Tywyn. At one time you couldn’t go into the lounge bar without a tie, it was that posh, you had to go to the Vaults bar at the side where the working man was.

“The people of Tywyn, especially the older people, remember everything of this iconic building but they also understand about the safety of people in the location.”

He noted the situation had “disrupted the town very much” with the scaffolding around the hotel, and traffic light controls in place.

“I got highways to make it safe, they put up scaffolding, it looks a good job but it is causing so much trouble,” he said.

“It has caused problems for the traffic going into the town, the cinema, the Whitehall, and the laundrette have all suffered significantly in revenue.

“It affects pedestrians, that use that area quite often and it is causing problems with big lorries using the narrow roads and along Frankwell Street, something needs to be done pretty quickly.”

Heritage building protection

Another public speaker, John Avant, a chartered structural engineer, said he was speaking on behalf of SAVE, a heritage building protection group.

He called for the hotel’s porch and walled garden to be re-instated which he claimed was “removed without listed building consent”.

Proposing the recommendation to approve the application with conditions, Cllr Anne Lloyd Jones said: “I am sad to see the loss of zone 5a, the old snug.

“I spent a lot of time when I was much younger in the snug bar, as they used to call it, it is a shame that has to go.

“But we have to move on, we need the road open as soon as possible.

“If we find more needs to be done that will be another application that will come before as we go on.”

Seconded by Clr Berwyn Parry Jones, the application passed with nine in favour, no abstentions and four against.