Workers at a country hotel in Northumberland may be at risk of losing their jobs as the venue closes for the second part of a "multi-million pound" refurbishment.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the hotel at Matfen Hall was renovated along with its leisure and golf facilities. The £10 million restoration included new bedrooms as well as a state-of-the-art kitchen facility .
Phase two of the investment, in which the courtyard area will be developed, is now set to begin. However, due to the scale of the work which needs to be undertaken, the hotel will temporarily close for five months from November.
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Chronicle Live understands that dozens of members of staff at Matfen Hall are at risk of being made redundant. The hotel said they are trying to relocate as many staff as possible to their sister hotel Walwick Hall and the golf facilities will remain open.
James O'Donnell, Head of Commercial Development at Matfen Hall, said: "At this early stage in our discussions with the team at Matfen Hall, no decisions have been taken and we will be following a period of consultation with the elected representatives of those employees whose roles may be at risk.
"Every effort is being made to find suitable alternate roles and responsibilities across other areas of our collection of Hotels, Golf and Spa destinations during this temporary closure with a view to keeping redundancies to a minimum.
"We would hope that many of our team are able to re-join us when the various works are complete, and they will be vital in delivering a great experience for our guests when we reopen with a completed second phase.
"As the closure is planned for five months, we did not feel it appropriate to ask staff to take unpaid leave for that length of time and therefore have opened up a dialogue with our team."
Back in August 2020, Matfen Hall was bought by the Walwick Estate Group, for an undisclosed amount. The company also owns Walwick Hall Country Estate and Spa and Chesters Stables, located near Humshaugh in Northumberland.
Phase two of the refurbishment will see a further £5 million invested in the hotel. The cash will be used to create a new dining space, as well as two lifts, a new cloakroom, grand restrooms and updated walkways.
Mr O'Donnell said the closure will allow for the various works required to take place safely and without significant limitations on how our team operate to welcome and look after our guests.
He said: "The investment has been ongoing since the Hotel was taken over in 2020 and is now entering phase two, during this phase there is a need for significant construction to happen on site therefore it would not be possible to operate a luxury Hotel in that time, nor would it be safe to attempt to do so.
"The final number of these roles is to be determined by the consultation process and as previously mentioned every effort is being made to keep this number to a minimum by finding alternate roles across our business whilst the Hotel at Matfen Hall is closed.
"Our Golf operations will remain open, and our intention is to increase the use of our Golf Clubhouse, Keeper's Lodge to create roles for those potentially at risk in the Hotel team. Similarly, our other Hotel, Spa and Self-Catering destinations will be able to offer continued employment to some during the temporary closure."
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