Bosses behind a proposed £7 million hotel in Shrewsbury town centre have submitted a bid for a licence to sell alcohol at the site – despite a brick not yet being laid.

The 127-bedroom, five-storey hotel, which will be run by Premier Inn, is set to be built on the former Telephone House site in Smithfield Road.

The development, which also includes office space and conference facilities, was approved by councillors in May, despite concerns it could lead to a loss of earnings for town guest houses.

Now Whitbread Group Plc, which owns the Premier Inn brand, has submitted a licensing application to officials at Shropshire Council so it can sell alcohol and provide regulated entertainment at the hotel.

If approved it would see the hotel able to sell alcohol between 10am and 12.30am Monday to Sunday and to hotel guests 24 hours a day.

It would also enable occasional regulated entertainment and late night refreshments to be provided when the premises are open for the sale of alcohol.

Developers Dunedin previously said the hotel could be open by 2011.

But a spokesman for Whitbread today said that there was still no firm date set for when building work would begin.

He said: “We are progressing with our plans for a Premier Inn on Smithfield Road in Shrewsbury and have now submitted a licensed premises application.

“We are also working through the conditions of our planning consent. Once these processes are complete we will be in a better position to confirm the development timetable and opening date for the hotel. We still anticipate that the new hotel will create approximately 60 jobs.

“Shrewsbury town centre remains a core part of our plans for the area.”