Rhodes eaterie opening still on

4:50pm Thursday 13th November 2008

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THE grand opening of the new Gary Rhodes restaurant at the luxury Christchurch Harbour Hotel in Mudeford will go ahead as planned even though part of the adjacent town house development collapsed this weekend.

The celebrity chef’s second restaurant in the area is due to open on Thursday.

Hotel bosses say despite the damage and destruction caused by the roof of one of the houses falling in, they are planning to go ahead with the launch.

Independent investigators and the Health and Safety Executive are continuing their report into the incident after a site visit to the multi-million pound Iridium development earlier this week.

Adam Terpening, general manager at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel, said: “The incident at the Iridium development in Christchurch, which is in close proximity to the Christchurch Harbour Hotel, will not affect the launch of Rhodes South.

“This new restaurant is in the grounds of the Christchurch Harbour Hotel and we’re really looking forward to next week’s opening and welcoming visitors to both the hotel and Rhodes South.

“The hotel has been completely unaffected by the incident and we are operating as normal.”

A spokesman for the site building contractor, Midas, said work to unaffected areas of the new development had resumed, while the roof and the affected area at the eastern end were being stabilised to make the site safe for workers.

The cause of the collapsed roof is not yet known.

One lane of the road that was closed from Mude Gardens to Farm Lane in Mudeford on Saturday has been re-opened and traffic lights put in place.