PLANS to revamp the Pear Tree Hotel at Purton have been approved - three weeks after the venue closed its doors for the last time.

The application to build a banqueting suite overlooking the gardens was lodged in November but since then the family-run hotel has been shut after three decades and is being sold.

When managing director Anne Young made the announcement on January 2 she blamed increasing overheads for the closure, saying the business had struggled to balance the books.

Ironically, the news came only a few weeks after the Pear Tree made it into the Good Hotel Guide for the 25th time.

Wiltshire Council issued a decision notice granting permission for the development, meaning it could be taken on by any future owner.

Plans drawn up by Sedley Place Design detailed a new function suite to replace two conservatories at the back of the building, which once stood in the village churchyard but was moved brick by brick and reconstructed in its present location in 1912.

The scheme, which was supported by Purton Parish Council, included a sweeping outdoor staircase from the first-floor function room, merging two existing suites to create a bridal preparation room and converting a meeting room on the second floor into a bridal suite.

And it added more bedrooms, an extended bar, a courtyard garden and an internal lift.

In its design statement the agent said: “The hotel has found that it has not been able to keep pace with the demands of the weddings market in recent years - which routinely calls for between 100 to 150 seated dining guest functions - whereas The Pear Tree can only offer facilities for 55 seated guests. A study found that there are no spaces within the existing hotel that are capable of being adapted to meet this need, thus the requirement for the new extension.”

The agent said the plans had been designed to rationalise the existing accommodation, increase the facilities available and make the hotel a more sustainable and relevant business model.

It was hoped the changes would offer a more attractive wedding product to suit the market and reverse the declining appeal of the hotel.

It was turned into a restaurant with four letting rooms in 1987 before an extension added 13 rooms and a conference room.

Three years ago it was named the best country hotel in the Good Hotel Guide.

In October the Young family, who bought it from the Diocese of Bristol, celebrated their entry in the guide which highlighted their imaginative cooking, friendly staff and well-kept gardens.