Opening date set for new Shrewsbury hotel

A £7 million hotel in Shrewsbury town centre which will create about 60 jobs is likely to open in spring 2012, after being delayed by planning wrangles, bosses behind the scheme said today.

Previously developers have said the hotel could be open next year, but talks are currently ongoing behind the scenes over various planning issues.

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

A spokesman for Whitbread Group Plc, which owns the Premier Inn brand, today said: "Once the planning issues have been resolved, the scheme will go out to tender. We are hoping for a decision from the council by early September.

"This will allow us to start working up a detailed design for the site before commencing construction.

"Following this timetable we aim to be open for business in spring 2012."

Plans for the scheme were approved in May last year.

The Environment Agency and English Heritage, which had both raised objections to previous versions of the scheme, did not lodge any fresh concerns when the finalised plans were put forward.

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

Peter Bettis, chairman of Shrewsbury Business Chamber, today said: "This is the start of the growth for Shrewsbury.

"It's bringing people into the town so it would not only be jobs for the hotel but would bring business in for the retail industry and tourism.

"We look forward to the earliest completion for that hotel to encourage people to come in for more than a day and stay for a week."