MYSTERY surrounds the closure of Bush Hall Hotel, which has stopped taking bookings for the next two years.

Staff at the popular, landmark establishment, which sits on the WGC-Hatfield border, say they have been made redundant.

And customers phoning the hotel are greeted with a message which states the hotel is closed for refurbishment and taking no bookings for 2010 and 2011.

NEW HOTEL

A planning application to demolish existing buildings on the 26-acre site and erect a new hotel with 50 bedrooms was submitted to Welwyn Hatfield Council in September.

The proposals also sought to convert the existing stables into a spa and to refurbish the Turbine cottage from residential to office accommodation.

But it was withdrawn just before Christmas and the entire site locked up.

A council spokeswoman said: “We have been working to try and develop a scheme that would be acceptable in planning terms and would like these discussions to continue, to try and overcome the issues in the recent planning application.”

When approached by the WHT, Bush Hall’s management declined to comment on the future of the business.