‘Exhausted’ hotel owner speaks out on closure

Soaring staffing costs and the effects of the Covid pandemic have been blamed for the closure of a much-loved Dartmoor hotel.

Now the owner of the Edgemoor Hotel on the outskirts of Bovey Tracey is applying for permission to use it as homes.
In his application, Simon Crow says the listed property was closed as a hotel in April 2023, and has been on the market for more than two years with no serious interest or offers.
Since then, three independent cottages and some of the hotel’s bedrooms have been rented out, making it a ‘house in multiple occupation’ (HMO). There are currently 10 tenants in nine rooms, with additional tenants in three separate properties.
Teignbridge Council’s planning department says Mr Crow now needs to apply for permission to change the Edgemoor’s use from a hotel to an HMO. Bovey Tracey Town council says it has no objections to the conversion.
Mr Crow and his wife have run the hotel since 2008, but business suffered during the pandemic and subsequent attempts to market the property as a going concern proved fruitless.
Teignbridge granted the relevant HMO licence in January 2025 but then in July informed Mr Crow that he should also obtain planning permission for a change of use.
Addressing a meeting of the town council’s planning committee, Mr Crow recalled the time when the impact of the pandemic became fully apparent. Speaking about the prospect of having to rebuild the business he said: “We couldn’t do it again. We were exhausted.”
Mr Crow said staffing costs of £300,000 a year weren’t sustainable and the new HMO arrangement had created homes with ‘an amazing community spirit going on’.
He added that he and his wife still lived in the building and that they wanted to be ‘totally compliant’ with the rules and ‘responsible HMO landlords’. Mr Crow cited less traffic under the new arrangement and said his neighbours were fully aware of the changes and none had objected. The meeting was told that the Jeremy Leach pottery studio in the grounds was unaffected by the new arrangements.
Cllr Martyn Evans said Mr Crow had been ‘let down’ by TDC as its officers had failed to inform him of the need to apply for a change of use when the HMO had been issued.
Supporting the application he said: “I have no reservations at all.”
And one Edgemoor resident told the meeting: “It’s just a great place to be. Simon’s a great landlord. It’s called home, really.”
Members voted four in favour with no objections and one abstention. The application will now be considered by Teignbridge.