Premier Inn: Hotel proposals presented to West Sussex town's residents in well-attended exhibition

The major, national hotel chain invited residents and businesses in Littlehampton to view and provide feedback on its plans for a new Premier Inn hotel in the town centre.

The proposals seek to redevelop the former Waitrose supermarket site on Avon Road into a 130-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, with an associated restaurant, parking and landscaping.

A public consultation event was hosted by Premier Inn owners Whitbread’s development team on Wednesday (February 12). This was the first opportunity for the community to review and engage on the detailed plans. The drop-in exhibition took place from 2pm to 7:30pm at the New Millennium Chamber, The Manor House, Church Street, with the information also available online.

As many as 81 people attended during the first hour – with dozens more arriving throughout the day.

Some residents told the Littlehampton Gazette they were excited for the plans to redevelop an ‘eyesore’ in the town.

David Aston, who lives in Wick, said: “I am really pleased that something is finally going to happen and it’s an eyesore in the town. It’s the best thing to happen here for years.”

This was a common viewpoint expressed by residents at the exhibition events.

There were some concerns, however, over the height of the proposed building – which would be three storeys above ground floor. It would include 40 bedrooms – with accessible rooms as well as enhanced Premier Plus bedrooms.

Councillor Sean Lee – the mayor of Littlehampton – was fully supportive of the plan.

He said: “This proposed redevelopment of the old supermarket site in the town centre is great news.

"I think it's going to get a lot of support – it's certainly buzzing on social media. We hope it can add a lot of redevelopment and repurpose the town, bringing in more businesses.

“I've already got local businesses coming up to me and proposing new events and ideas about weekends – I think it just gives people a lot of optimism and that's really nice to see.

“With the seafront regeneration, the Premier Inn will provide much-needed bed space for anybody who comes to make use of those facilities.

“It's very important for people to have their say. As a town councillor, I'm more than keen and happy to hear the views of my constituents all the time. There's an opportunity to go online and tell the Premier Inn what you think of their proposals.”

The former Waitrose store on Avon Road has been vacant since its closure in 2015. Whitbread’s proposed redevelopment in a new Premier Inn seeks to revitalise this prominent location, bringing it into long-term use and enhancing the town centre, while meeting the growing demand for high-quality, affordable hotel accommodation on the south coast.

Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said: “We've always had a requirement for Littlehampton and been looking for a site for a long time, in particular in the town centre. It's close to the bus station, close to the train station, so easy accessible.

"The fund which owns the site is Ropemaker. We were approached by an agent that works for them about whether there was a possible hotel to be developed on their site.

"The site has been closed for ten years and it is a bit of an eyesore.

"They did a couple of applications for residential apartments and then it got reduced down to a smaller scheme, which meant it was unviable. So the prospect of bringing a hotel forward on their site would obviously work for them to actually bring the site back into life.”

Having looked at the figures, Ms Woodruff said it is estimated that 80 per cent of Premier Inn guests will spend money in the town centre.

Many guests ‘tend to go out and visit the local restaurants’ to eat, she added.

Ms Woodruff continued: “We’ve had really positive feedback so far. It’s been really good to hear. I think that everyone just wants Littlehampton to start changing, regenerating.

"A lot of towns are feeling the pressure, with a lot of empty shops. Hopefully the redevelopment of the site can bring some vibrancy back to Littlehampton.

“We want to hear what the locals say. We're here to listen. The actual design and the application is not drawn up yet.

"So we're really willing to take feedback, ideas. And it's been really interesting listening to the local people today with all their history and knowledge of the site.”

Residents can find more information on the proposals and register for updates on the project website at www.premierinn-avonroad.co.uk. All the material on display have been uploaded to the website, and comments can be submitted online from February 12, onwards.