Development of a Grade II listed Powys mansion will be featured in an ongoing Channel 4 TV series.

The Channel 4 reality series ‘Help! We Bought a Hotel’, which follows a number of British people taking on large scale hotel developments, will feature 18th century Llanerchydol Hall on the outskirts of Welshpool.

With the first episode airing on Monday, July 8, one segment of the series will follow Ben, Raj and Des, in their attempts to re-develop the Grade II listed hall.

The programme’s narrator says: “By the 1980s, the building had fallen into serious disrepair and had laid empty for 15 years.

"It could have been lost forever, if it weren’t for three friends and former neighbours, Raj, ben and Des, with a passion for grand homes and the vision to see what Llanerchydol Hall could be.

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“The trio were looking for a joint venture and decided to pool their savings to buy the hall for £1.3 million.

“Whilst the project would be too big for an individual to tackle, the trio believe their joint skill set will be the secret of their success, despite the enormous challenge they are about to face.”

The first episode recounts how the group are, at the time of filming in summer 2023, in the midst of refurbishing the hall’s 13 bedrooms.

MORE ON THIS STORY: 16 homes at Powys' Llanerchydol Hall rejected again

Having refurbished four bedrooms in the west wing, they are looking to bring paying guests into the already refurbished rooms so they can fund work on the east wing, described as “a wreck”.

The episode largely covers their efforts to renovate some of the rooms as well as welcoming customers to two completed guest suites. This also creates a conflict of reducing noisy renovation work while guests are staying at the hall.

Some of the work at Llanerchydol Hall (Image: Anonymous)

As the programme explains: “With much of the house still a work in progress, there’s a risk the guests might be less than impressed.

“While it’s great to be making money, the flipside is this will delay the completion of the other guest rooms, work that desperately needs doing if the project is to continue.”

The project has proven controversial, as developers Ben Sutterby and Raj Saini were refused retrospective planning permission by the council for some of the works in June 2023.

However, work at the site continued, leading Powys County Council to serve a temporary stop notice.

Cadw also said they had members of the public raise concerns with them about the activity at the site.

There has also been a separate ongoing planning battle over historic plans for 16 homes on the estate.