New Alnwick Premier Inn set for approval and would create 30 new jobs

A new Premier Inn in Alnwick could get the green light next week, creating 30 new jobs in the town.
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The application for a three-storey, 83-bedroom hotel, featuring a bar/restaurant on the ground floor, is recommended for approval at a meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council on Thursday, February 20.

The development, on the Willowburn Trading Estate, would feature 81 parking spaces plus six electric vehicle bays.

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The scheme is being led by the Northumberland Estates, acting on behalf of Northern Commercial Properties Ltd (NCP), whose majority shareholder is Lord James Percy, brother of the Duke of Northumberland.

File picture of a Premier Inn sign. Picture c/o Lewis Whyld/PA WireFile picture of a Premier Inn sign. Picture c/o Lewis Whyld/PA Wire
File picture of a Premier Inn sign. Picture c/o Lewis Whyld/PA Wire

NCP, alongside the Harris & Sheldon Group – the landlord of Hardy and Greys owner Pure Fishing, previously wanted to build housing on a larger plot of the trading estate, off South Road.

However, two applications – one for 125 homes and another for 100 – were rejected by Northumberland County Council, as the site is designated as employment land in the Alnwick and Denwick Neighbourhood Plan.

An appeal against the first refusal was then dismissed by a planning inspector in October 2018, following a public inquiry that summer.

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The planning officer’s report on the latest bid notes that while a hotel ‘does not reflect the traditional industrial employment use, it will enable a more flexible approach to employment creation that would be compatible with the existing, neighbouring employment uses’.

The site of the proposed Premier Inn in Alnwick. Picture by Ben O’ConnellThe site of the proposed Premier Inn in Alnwick. Picture by Ben O’Connell
The site of the proposed Premier Inn in Alnwick. Picture by Ben O’Connell

The proposals were revealed last August before the application was lodged in October, which set out that once operating, the hotel would create up to 30 full-time-equivalent jobs.

At the time, Stuart Rose, acquisition manager at Premier Inn, said: “Our hotels in market towns like Alnwick perform very well, attracting a high number of business and leisure guests throughout the year and also helping to support the local economy as most of our customers visit local attractions and eat and drink out when they stay with us.

“We are confident we will trade well in Alnwick and Premier Inn’s style of flexible accommodation will increase the choice for visitors wishing to stay in the town and help to market it to people who may not currently visit.”

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