Hotel clock tower is demolished - but a new one could take its place

The demolition of the former Castletown Golf Links Hotel has been completed - its tower having been the last part to be left standing.

This castellated landmark has now also been reduced to rubble - but owner Philip Vermeulen confirmed that the plan is to include a replacement clock tower in the design for the new hotel proposed for the site.

Asked whether the tower will look anything like the old one, he replied: ‘It should - subject to input from the designers.

‘We would also like to see a clock on all four sides of the tower.’

An emergency demolition on the eyesore former hotel got under way in February - amid fears that the building posed an immediate risk to public safety.

It has been a blight on an area of outstanding natural beauty for years.

And there had been issues with intruders breaking into the old building, causing further damage and putting themselves at risk.

Mr Vermuelen, managing director of Langness Golf Course Ltd, says he wants to submit plans this year for the redevelopment of the site as a 5* luxury hotel and restaurant.

Fort Island Road has been closed to vehicles to allow controlled access for construction traffic.

Castletown Golf Links Hotel was built by Thomas Dodd in the late 19th century and was subject over the years to a number of alterations and extensions, including, early on, the construction of the landmark tower.

The hotel closed in 2007 and the site, by then increasingly dilapidated, sold to Dandara in 2012 which submitted plans in 2017 for a multi-million-pound hotel and flats scheme.

This was rejected by planners in 2021, that decision upheld on appeal in 2023. The site was sold last year to Langness Golf Course Ltd.