PLANNERS have given the go-ahead to a receiver to sell land near Winchester earmarked for a new 120-bedroom hotel.

City councillors approved the hotel scheme in 1999 as part of the overhaul of the Morn Hill scrapyard off Alresford Road.

The Intech science centre has been built, but the hotel did not come to fruition. Planning permission was renewed in 2004 and limited work on foundations was completed, but stopped after a few weeks.

Last November, concerned at the delay, Winchester planners issued a completion notice to Monkwood Hotels, meaning the council could pull the plug after 12 months if the work fell further behind. In June this year, a specialist land receiver, Stephen Skinner, was appointed by Monkwood's bank to recover money advanced by the bank, said a council report.

Mr Skinner, of Nursling-based Edward Symmons, said: "My sole responsibility is in respect of the land. I now control the site. It is my intention to sell it and will offer it on the open market."

At their latest meeting on Thursday, members of the planning committee agreed to withdraw the completion notice to make the sale easier and also placed a covenant on the land that stated it could only be used for a hotel.

Once the new developer had signed an agreement to that effect, the hotel would have to be completed within three years.

The report stated: "Once an operator has been identified and contracts have been exchanged, Mr Skinner envisages a period of three years being needed for the building to be completed."

Geoff Williams, of Monkwood Hotels, declined to discuss the issue when contacted by the Daily Echo.

The issue of a hotel on the land has always been controversial. Planning permission was originally given in the mid-1980s but never activated.

Now the site lies within the proposed South Downs National Park and hotel plans have been opposed by conservationists.