Planning approval given to new hotel

Approval has been granted for a new hotel in Cornwallis Street.

The hotel will be built by Hastings Borough Council and operated by Premier Inn. It will provide 84-bedrooms and a ground floor restaurant on the current Cornwallis Street car park site. When open, the hotel will offer 20 full time equivalent posts. The developer has committed to working to use local contractors and employees where possible.

Cllr Paul Barnett, lead councillor for regeneration, said: "This is an exciting development which will bring additional hotel rooms for visitors to a central location, giving tourists more options when they are looking to visit the town. Regeneration is going to be a crucial part of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this development is a good example of how we are working with partners to achieve this.

"As a coastal town, Hastings has a shortage of hotel rooms, with fewer than 1,000 serviced bed spaces, compared to 7,000 in Eastbourne and 13,000 in Brighton so this is a welcome additional to our tourism industry. The more visitors we can bring into the town, the more we will boost our local economy, which will help businesses across the town."

Louise Woodruff, Property Acquisitions Manager for Premier Inn, said: "This development is an excellent example of our strategy of growing our brands in popular locations where we see a strong, long-term demand for our style of affordable accommodation.

"Working closely with the council we have created an excellent new hotel which will bring a package of local benefits including direct year-round employment and increased spending in the local economy as our guests head out to eat, drink, visit local attractions, do business and generally enjoy everything Hastings has to offer.

"With planning consent now granted, we will continue to work closely with the council to move the development forward and are very much looking forward to opening the doors and bringing our latest format hotel to the town."