The race was on to complete a function room as part of a £1.5 million extension at a top Shropshire hotel in time for the Mayor’s Ball on April 23rd.

Bad wintry weather delayed the construction of a 5,300 sq ft extension at Telford’s prestigious Hadley Park House hotel which will turn it into one of the county’s top event venues when the project is fully completed in June.

But Shropshire civil engineering and building contractors McPhillips vowed that partygoers would get to the ball on time as they “pulled out all the stops” to ensure the new function room was ready for Telford and Wrekin Council’s major event of the year.

Councillor Blundell said he was "delighted" to be holding my mayoral ball at the Hadley Park House and showcasing the new extension to the venue.

"It is great that a local business is continuing to invest in our vibrant borough,” he added.

Site manager Paul Marsh said that the long hard winter had held up construction since they began last October but they were determined to have the party venue ready on schedule for the Mayor’s Ball with a team of 20 working on the project.

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The specialist building department at McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd has brought in Welsh oak for exposed beams along with oak floors to create the new function room in keeping with the grade two listed hotel. Bricklayers have used 34,000 specially sourced bricks to copy the existing Georgian brickwork with white mortar as used in the original 1770’s property. McPhillips contractors cut through the hotel’s 2ft thick walls at the side entrance and an 18th century existing stone architrave has been removed and replaced at a new entrance.

“A lot of effort has gone into ensuring that the extension is in keeping with the original 18th century house,” said hotelier Mark Lewis, who has been planning the expansion since he took over the business six years ago. “It is doubling the size of the existing hotel. We were turning customers away because we didn’t have enough room but now we have ample space with an extra ten bedrooms to add to the existing 12 bedrooms and a second function room for 200.”

The main hotel has also undergone an upgrade including a new kitchen extension and a state of the art cooking centre.

The first guests to experience Hadley Park’s larger venue danced away the evening on the brand new dance floor during the Mayor’s Ball hosted by Councillor Blundell who, working in partnership with the Community Foundation for Shropshire and Telford, has been raising funds for the Telford & Wrekin Mayoral Fund which this year seeks to help provide action in the community to help eradicate problems caused by long term illnesses and diseases associated with heart failure.

(GK)