The last update on the historic George hotel in Rye’s High Street, and how it was being restored after the tragic fire in July last year, was published on November 14 last year ago, and readers were promised regular updates which have not been received. Clearly though it will not be featuring any Christmas decorations this year.
Following the fire in July last year more than one planning application was made to Rother District Council to cover the restoration work and at least one has apparently been withdrawn. This has led, in the absence of the promised updates, to confusion and gossip about the hotel’s future in historic Rye.
As the hotel occupies a prominent site in the town, and was a major attraction and business – and affects traffic along the High Street, as well as neighbouring businesses – an update after a year would be timely.
Image Credits: Jess Angell , Ray Prewer , Rye News library .
they are posting updates on Instagram – where they say they are expecting to open in 2021
https://www.instagram.com/thegeorgeinrye/
Did you actually approach The George off-line to request an update or is this entitled piece the clumsy way of doing that?
If I owned The George this is not an approach I would respond positively to … I might just be minded to continue giving any relevant updates of my choosing, through the media channels of my choosing, at the times of my choosing.
Not everyone is on Instagram and i would have thought it is only common curtesy to give the locals an update via their local paper. Surely not too much to ask for a local business.
I know the fire was devastating but they took their time getting anything done in the first place and left the hotel open to the ravages of the weather for months.
Surely now is the time to inform us what on earth is going on and how much longer we will have to put up with the unsightly and intrusive scaffolding that takes up valuable parking spaces in the High street.
Come on owners of the George enlighten us please.
Not everyone reads Rye News either – and as The George’s customers are international, it seems completely reasonable to have chosen to give a visual insight into their project on a mainstream global platform such as Instagram, which is freely available to all.
In November 2019 I believe The George provided an update in Rye News of the challenges and issues they faced at the start of the project, which addresses your specific criticisms.
It is probably safe to assume The George wish to minimise their closure and financial losses, so will be pushing to get the project finished as soon as possible. They are answerable in this respect to the statutory authorities that represent us all.
Rather than demand a public account of their project – which is literally their own business – another common courtesy would be to show recognition, support and patience for the painstaking work [as seen on Instagram] required to restore one of the most significant amenities and historic landmarks in Rye. Ultimately this is of greater consequence than the appearance/modest inconvenience of the temporary scaffolding, or the interim loss of a handful of parking spaces on the High St.