WICKLOW COUNCILLORS have solved the vexing question of what to do about repeated attacks on the now semi derelict, but listed, La Touche Hotel in Greystones.

Councillors have removed the building’s designation as a protected structure, paving the way for a developer to knock the Victorian pile. Problem solved. Wicklow councillor George Jones said he “welcomed the change as the current status of the building would hinder the sale of the site and would leave this ‘eye sore’ in situ for years to come”.

The hotel was one of a string of such hotels built in the 1800s along the east coast and is similar in style to the original parts of the Grand Hotel Malahide or Kelly’s Resort Hotel in Co Wexford.