Pictures: Hastings' new Premier Inn officially opens

The £10 million hotel was built on the site of the former Cornwallis Street Car Park. This 84-room establishment has standard and 'Premier Plus' room types, and a ground-floor restaurant called The Social.

Simone Casey, new openings project manager for Whitbread, said: "We're absolutely delighted to open our second Premier Inn in Hastings. It's been a fantastic project, and it's gone really smoothly. It's great to see local jobs for local people. We've hired over 25 new team members into the business, and we'll continue to grow on that number as we get busier, ready for our peak season trading.

"We know this site is going to attract loads of families throughout the summer. It's a great place for people to come and spend their summer vacation. It's a perfect mix for our business and leisure guests. It's going to boost the local economy, drive really great prospects for local businesses, and we're really happy to be here."

Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings and Rye, was invited to cut the ribbon, along with the hotel's team and local representatives, including local arts charity Project Art Works.

During her opening speech, Ms Dollimore said: "I think we're all really pleased to see this hotel finally built. The car plot that was here and left empty by the council for a long time is now replaced with something that is bringing jobs to Hastings, bringing visitors to Hastings, 25 jobs that we really need in the town. So that's really positive, and it's bringing tourism to Hastings.

"We have a massive opportunity as a town next year with the return of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK for the first time in 400 years to really sell 1066 country, to sell Hastings, to put us on the map and make sure people know that they can come here and have a great time."

Celebrating 25 years, Project Art Works is a supportive studio based in Hastings that began a partnership with Premier Inn in 2017, supplying artwork for their walls. The charity's creations are in approximately 7,500 rooms across the UK.

Jessica Courtney Bennett, communications and project manager at Project Art Works, said: "For the opening of this new hotel, Premier asked us to put together a collection of artwork for their foyer. It's really exciting for us for the work to be seen on a wall like this, so public-facing, so that people can find out more about the artists and us."

You can find out more about Project Art Works at https://projectartworks.org/