A HOTELIER has apparently made good on his threat to close his business down after a long- running battle with a council over a marquee.

The Banyers Hotel, in Melbourn Street, Royston, closed this week, and furniture has been removed from the bar and restaurant. It is unclear whether it will reopen, but the Crow understands that it has been put up for sale.

Tony Roach, the owner of the Banyers, has been involved in a dispute with North Herts District Council over a marquee which he erected in the hotel’s grounds. Residents complained about the noise generated when functions were held in the marquee.

Last month Mr Roach pleaded guilty to breaching an enforcement notice instructing him to take the marquee down. He was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay �500 costs.

Rupert Matthews, chairman of the Royston Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is sad to see The Banyers closed, but I have no doubt that, if it is sold, someone will be able to come in and make a success of it in the future.”

Mr Roach, who boought the hotel in 2008, was unavailable when the Crow called in at The Banyers earlier this week, but speaking at a meeting of Royston Town Council’s planning committee in February, he said: “If it’s going to be that we are not going to have a marquee and no weddings in the town, I would have no alternative but to board it up and close it down.

“Since I have started I have not made money for four years and I have only just started making money.”