THE new owners of a hotel have revealed plans to invest £750,000 as part of a major ten-week refurbishment which will see it finally reopen.

The Chichester Hotel, in Old London Road, Wickford, has been closed since 2022 but was sold to the Ukay Group on Thursday for £2million.

Speaking to the Echo on Friday, managing director of the Chichester Hotel, Ahfaz Miah, revealed he aims to rip out all of the rooms to carry out renovations and refurbish the historic hotel.

If works go to plan, he is confident the hotel will reopen in ten weeks offering 200 rooms as well as an events space, restaurant and banquet hall.

The Ukay Group owns a series of hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets in East London.

Mr Miah, has emphasised that the company wishes to create “something special” at the hotel to serve the residents of south Essex and further afield.

“The Chichester will be reopened as a hotel, a restaurant and the banqueting halls will be returned, catering services will also start for the outside of the hotel,” he said.

“We are family run and the only reason we have gone for this is the location and the locality to us, our concern is serving the people, and we want to keep the external work on the historic hotel as it is.

“The interior will be highly refurbished, the rooms will have new baths and showers added, new paintwork and new furniture.

“It will be overhauled, we want to be different, and we know we can modernise, which includes the gardens which will include a lake and a bridge.”

Mr Miah added that the Ukay group’s main business has been in east London, where they have provided markets, jewellery store and a restaurant in Whitechapel Road.

He said: “Our city hotels are not letting us do what we want to do, we are restricted and that is what makes the Chichester special.

“We will have the hotel and restaurant for the community, and we will have the halls to hire for weddings and funerals, even bazaars for shops to come and do stalls.

“We are hoping to promote the area.”