The 77-bed hotel, to be named Lanyon Hotel, could open as early as autumn 2019.

The courthouse closed in 1998 after nearly 150 years of use and has laid derelict ever since.

Planning documents state that the main courtroom will be retained and restored for the benefit of tourists.

Liverpool-based developer Lawrence Kenwright of Signature Living said: “We couldn’t raise the funds for the project until we got planning approval, so now that’s done we will clear up the site within the next week. We already have contractors ready to start working.”

He added: “We will be sympathetic to the heritage of the building and will be in constant contact with conservation to make sure they are happy.

“But this is what we do, we take old buildings and convert them. We did a similar thing in Cardiff, of a similar standard of heritage and it had the same issues, so we don’t see it being much more difficult than that.”