Demolition 'would hit tourist trade'

The Torquay hotel that inspired Fawlty Towers has been saved from demolition ­ again.

Developers Midas Homes made a second bid to knock down the 41-bedroom Gleneagles Hotel in favour of an apartment block, but local councilors have refused permission.

John Cleese came up with the idea for the sitcom while staying at the hotel with other members of Monty Python in 1971.

He once described its then owner, Donald Sinclair as "the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met" who supposedly threw Eric Idle's briefcase out of a window, thinking it was a bomb.

Planners said its demolition "would undoubtedly have a significant impact upon the tourist economy".

The hotel still attracts parties of Basil Fawlty fans, especially from Germany and the United States, and was the subject of a mini-documentary on a recent DVD release of the classic sitcom.

The new plans are a revised version of last year's rejected proposals ­ but they hadn't been changed enough to persuade the council. A previous attempt to demolish the hotel in 1989 was also thrown out.

Published: 17 Mar 2004