A FORMER Oswestry hotel is being earmarked as a new centre for homeless and vulnerable adults.

The Advertizer can reveal talks have taken place between the owners of the old Smithfield Hotel in Salop Road and a firm which specialises in providing accommodation for adults with learning or physical disabilities.

And Italian chef Enrico Vittone, who has been looking for a new venture, could take over the dining areas and open the restaurant he has been dreaming of.

The firm behind the plan is the Fairhome Group, based in Salford, which works with local authorities and care providers which have identified a requirement for bespoke accommodation.

The idea is the 14 bedrooms at the Smithfield – which was trading as the Bullring bar when it closed three years ago – would be used as accommodation for vulnerable or homeless people.

Mr Vittone would run the restaurant as a going concern, which would be open to the public – but could also provide meals for the homeless.

He had hoped to raise money to open an Italian trattoria at the old Lawrence Direct shop in Church Street, but only £50 had been raised towards his £30,000 target.

Mr Vittone said: “That did not work out to be financially viable but I am keen to be involved in the Smithfield Hotel plan.

“The accommodation would be for people in need, the vulnerable, and the restaurant would be run as a business but also offering a volunteering base. If it took off, there is a chance we could offer a wage and help these people get back on their feet.

“As far as I am concerned, the restaurant would be run as a community enterprise, with paying customers and also offering meals to people in need in the community.

“We have had several meetings and I am confident it will all go through.”

Planning permission was granted just over a year ago for the former hotel to become seven apartments.

A spokesman for the Fairhome Group said nothing had been determined yet.

“It is the sort of project we like to get involved in, breathing new life into an empty building and giving it a new sense of purpose,” he said.