Fresh plans for £8m Shrewsbury hotel
Friday 18th February 2011, 5:33PM GMT.
Fresh plans have been submitted for an £8 million hotel in Shrewsbury’s town centre which is expected to create more than 40 jobs.
Premier Inn has submitted a new planning application for a 136-bedroom hotel and restaurant in Smithfield Road, Shrewsbury.
The application, which was lodged yesterday with Shropshire Council, reflects alterations to plans for the site which originally included permission for a 127-bedroom Premier Inn.
Part of the initial plans, which were approved in June 2009, included 1,000 square metres of office space which is now surplus to requirement.
The hotel will create around 45 jobs and will see investment from Whitbread PLC, Premier Inn’s parent company, in the region of £8.2 million.
John Bates, head of acquisitions in the UK & Ireland for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said approval would allow Premier Inn to start building this year and open in 2012. He said: “We are excited about our new plans for bringing Premier Inn to the centre of Shrewsbury.”
He added: “The hotel will be a real asset for Shrewsbury.”
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A budget knocking shop right next to the train station and the bus station. If this were the 1970s Xaviera Hollander would have a field day.
Well done Shrewsbury you really know how to big it up!
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Obviously zz94 knows all about ‘knockshops’
even if he/she does’nt know anything else.
Hope the hotel goes ahead Shrewsbury needs it
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Perhaps Z94 has got confused with The Knockin Shop, situated in the village f Knockin!
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What will this hotel look like? How high will it be? Will we very quickly loose the lovely historic view from the river of the castle and library opened up after the horror of Telephone house was erased? Too much of the beauty of Shropshire towns and landscape is being given away too easily now. Once it’s gone it’s gone forever.
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Good point Susan, in the hands of the woefully inept planners there is a real fear that yet another eyesore will be towering over the town. The only saving grace is that the development will be in the cluster of existing eyesores! But agreed that it should not be allowed to tower above the town.
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can you apply for the jobs now and how?
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well if they can put that monstrosity on the river edge, i think anything else in that area has to be a godsend. Surely it is a good thing that jobs are being created in a town where pubs clubs etc are closing regularly, so lets hope that this is a goer and not shelved like all former plans
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First I understand the concerns of residents who want to keep the look of the town in keeping and I would fully agree. As someone who has worked within the Tourism Industry I think its good that a new hotel will be built in the town and lets be honest this part of town needs regenerating.
I have often stayed a Premier Inns and I think the comment about “budget knocking shop” is well out of order. Premier Inns that I have stayed in have been great offering a good standard of accommodation and always clean.
I am sure the hotel will be an asset for the town bringing in more visitors to spend their money in the shops, pubs and restaurants creating more jobs along the way. With all the bad news of budget cuts, having news of some investment in the town is great!
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More comments from the “Not in my back yard brigade” or commonly known as the No noise in the Quarry park team!
Great news lets get Shrewsbury up there with York, Bath & Chester as a great place to visit.
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As long as the building is rebuilt/refurbished sensitively the idea is wonderful. The Lion and the Prince Rupert are part of S’bury’s heritage but not everyone can afford their prices. The budget chains are clean and comfortable and excellent value, especially for families. I don’t understand the silly ‘knocking shop’ reference. Whoever moderates this site should not have allowed the posting.
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Well done Premier Inns. Welcome to our historic town. Hope you’re listening / watching town planners. We need more of this sort of thing to keep the town alive
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