Plans submitted to turn Grantley Hall into luxury hotel and spa

The plans, submitted by owner Valeria Sykes, include extending and improving the building to create a 51 'suite-style'-bedroom hotel with restaurant and spa as well as the development of outbuildings for on-site staff accommodation. 

Sykes, who bought the property last year, said she was aiming to create a business that could attract international visitors to the region and where staff training and development would be integral to its success. 

She said: "Since my divorce from Paul Sykes in 2012, I have embarked on a number of very exciting restoration projects. With Grantley Hall we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create something in the north of England befitting of an international stage and I look forward to creating a venue that Yorkshire can be proud of.”

Sykes who was married to businessman, political donor and philantropist Paul Sykes for 44 years, has been involved in a number of conservation and restoration projects such as Studley Royal House and the Duck House Conservation Estate. 

Training and development​

She said, if approved, Grantley Hall's transformation into a hotel and spa would create approximately 150 jobs with the company committed to 'excelling in staff training and development to become a real asset to the region's economy'.

Grantley Hall sits within 30 acres of land in the valley of the River Skell on an artificial island created by the canalisation of the river five miles west of Ripon. 

The 17th Century building was used as a place of convalescence during World War II before being purchased by West Riding County Council in 1947 for use as a residential college for adults. North Yorkshire County Council took ownership of the building in 1974 and used it as a training and conference centre before it was transformed back into a private residence. 

Grantley Hall Ltd will wait for the planning application to be heard by the council next month before it can move ahead with development plans.