One of Wales' greatest restaurants is to have a very different future

One of Wales' best known restaurants is set to turned into a hospice for the seriously ill. Owner Stephen Terry and his family closed the Hardwick at Old Raglan Road in Abergavenny in September last year after 18 years in business.

A host of reasons led to the closure of the renowned restaurant including employee Nicola Nightingale stealing £150,000 from The Hardwick with the help of her husband Simon. Both of them received suspended sentences for the offences. Mr Terry's marriage also broke down.

A short statement on the restaurant’s social media pages on October 1 read: "The final ‘Family’ last breakfast supper. Thank you to all our staff and customers from the last 18 years. It’s been emotional. Onwards and upwards." The Hardwick has been permanently closed ever since and the family put it up for sale for £825,000 in February. For more news, sign up to our newsletter here.

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For years, the Hardwick had been a fixture in lists of Wales best restaurants. Mr Terry, who trained under Marco Pierre White, formerly held a Michelin star and appeared on BBC's Great British Menu.

A planning application has now been submitted that shows Newport-based St David's Hospice Care intends to buy the restaurant and the en-suite accommodation beside it to turn it into a day hospice and a café for visitors and families. The letting accommodation currently lies in a separate purpose-built hotel block.

The application reads that the existing self-catering holiday accommodation on the the first floor of the building would be retained and continue to operate. With gardens and a car park for 32 vehicles, the venue is seen as the perfect spot for St David's.

St David’s has applied for change of use covering what was the restaurant so it can be used as a day centre, while the kitchen would be shared between it and the café it plans to open. Planners say nine jobs will be created with six working in the day centre and three in the café which, according to the application, will “be community-focused and aimed to be used by local residents who will drop off the relatives in need of the day care service”.

No change of use is required for the self-catering accommodation, as permission is already in place, and the building would operate during normal business hours Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. The application is still being discussed by Monmouthshire County Council's planning department.