PREMIER Inn is set to build a new £10 million hotel in a major boost for a UK market town.
Britain’s largest hotel chain has announced plans to transform the site of a former factory.
The new hotel in North Walsham, Norfolk, will feature the chain’s latest bedroom designs, and will be built on the former Crane Fruehauf site on the outskirts of the town.
Lucy Shires, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the area, celebrated the brand coming to the town.
She told the BBC she hoped it would attract more visitors and boost jobs.
Councillor Shires said: “A national company like Whitbread choosing to invest about £10 million here is a real vote of confidence in our town’s future.
“The hotel will bring the prospect of permanent jobs and more visitors spending money in local shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants, with benefits for the surrounding area too.”
At the initial planning stage, North Norfolk District Council heard objections about the hotel‘s designs.
The council’s conservation officer had complained about its “architectural quality”, believing it would appear “overly dominant”.
The officer also described the plans for the hotel as “box-like”.
However, district officials ruled the benefits outweighed concerns about the design and approved the plans, although it is not yet known when construction will start on the site.
Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn, operates 850 hotels across the UK and Ireland.