Locals have lost a last-minute bid to save a hideaway seaside hotel beloved by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Campaigners fought to restore The Corbett Arms where Beatles fans have made pilgrimages to follow in the footsteps of a Lennon family holiday.
But council chiefs have ordered the fans to ‘Let it Be’ because the hotel is too dangerous to be saved.
Safety chiefs says the site is a danger to the public after hotel has been allowed to crumble away in Tywyn, North Wales.
The authority was accused by locals of ‘cultural vandalism’ for failing to save the grade-II listed structure which has been closed for 14 years.
Music icon Lennon visited the 3,000-population seaside town with his son Julian, wife Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in 1969, just before the band split.
He stayed at the hotel with his family before they headed north to Scotland for a driving holiday and even sent a postcard to fellow bandmate Ringo Starr.
The postcard sent from the resort was included in bandmate Starr’s 2004 book Postcards From The Boys.
Campaigners fought to restore The Corbett Arms where Beatles fans have made pilgrimages
Music icon John Lennon visited the 3,000-population seaside town with his son Julian, wife Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in 1969, just before the band split
The authority was accused by locals of ‘cultural vandalism’ for failing to save the grade-II listed structure which has been closed for 14 years
But the Grade II listed property has since fallen into disrepair after it was left empty and the iconic former ballroom’s roof collapsed.
It had been sealed off to protect the public with even 999 crews banned from going inside in January.
A Gwynedd Council statement said: ‘The condition of the Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn has been a cause for concern for Cyngor Gwynedd and the local community for years, and we have taken action to protect the public and safeguard this listed building.
‘Despite efforts to protect and ensure the long-term use of this Grade II listed building, its condition has continued to deteriorate with a significant collapse at the rear of the building at the end of January, along with a further collapse on the roof of the ballroom at the end of February.’
The council said scaffolding was put up to protect the public along with street closures next to the building.
It added: ‘Unfortunately, the condition of the building has deteriorated to the point where there is a risk of another collapse and the Council need be in a position to take immediate action to protect public health and safety.
‘This is why we have commissioned a specialist company to erect the scaffolding along Maengwyn Street and part of Corbett Square and carry out pre-preparation work on site for specialist machinery.
‘This means that we will be in a position to react immediately if further emergency work is required due to another collapse or evidence arising from the ongoing monitoring work.’
The Grade II listed property has since fallen into disrepair after it was left empty and the iconic former ballroom’s roof collapsed
It had been sealed off to protect the public with even 999 crews banned from going inside in January
The council continued to say that it ‘has no choice but to submit application for listed building consent, to include demolition, under Section 90 of the Historic Environment Act (Wales) 2023.’
‘This process is being conducted transparently, with due regard to historic environment policy for Wales and the guidance of Cadw,’ it added.
‘Arrangements for submitting this application are progressing and it is expected that the application will be submitted in the coming days.
‘As part of the listed building consent process, all interested parties will have the opportunity to make representations during the consultation period.
‘These representations will be considered by Welsh Government Ministers prior to the determination of the application.
‘Unless there is another collapse or evidence that the condition of the building is deteriorating to such an extent that the Council must respond urgently, other than preparatory works, the Council will not carry out demolition work until listed building consent has been approved by Welsh Government Ministers.’
Campaigner Glyn Evans, who was born in the town, launched a petition in 2020 for the council to buy the hotel with a compulsorily purchase.
The petition was signed by over half of people living in the town – but Glyn says ‘nothing was ever done.’
The council said that it ‘has no choice but to submit application for listed building consent, to include demolition, under Section 90 of the Historic Environment Act (Wales) 2023’
Gwynedd Council’s enforcement notice is addressed to the ‘representatives of Susan Helen Holmes’.
She ran two businesses from the hotel – Helenian Holdings, dissolved in 2010, and ROAC Ltd which dissolved in February 2022.
Helen, an icon of the West Midlands soul scene in the 1970s, died in 2012 after battling cancer aged 58.
The hotel was first recorded in 1827 and was part of the Corbett family’s estate.
