Major chain to open hotel in seaside town

The UK's largest hotel chain has announced plans to open a site in a seaside town.

Premier Inn has begun discussions to create a 108-bedroom hotel in Southend Road in Hunstanton, Norfolk.

Whitbread, the company which owns the Premier Inn brand, said it would bring a multi-million-pound investment into the resort and would be the first to open along the north Norfolk coast.

Simon Ring, deputy leader of King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council, described the move as a "vote of confidence" in the future of the town and said it followed years of discussions between the local authority and the firm.

"This is huge news for Hunstanton," Ring said.

"The sheer fact the UK's largest hotel chain wants to invest in Hunstanton is a vote of confidence in the resort's future, placing us alongside Norfolk's other big visitor destinations, and this investment and new facility will hopefully act as a catalyst for further money."

Planning permission will have to be gained before the development can take place, which would be built on an "underutilised" area of the Seagate (East) Car Park, the council said.

The announcement was made after Whitbread recently gained permission to revamp its Norwich Nelson Premier Inn site, which will also include student and residential accommodation.

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Whitbread acquisitions manager Paul Smith said: "We believe a Premier Inn in Hunstanton would be a great addition to the town's tourism offer, providing visitors with the quality, value and reliability they expect from the UK's leading hotel brand, while helping to support local businesses, jobs and year-round economic activity."

Premier Inn currently operates nearly 850 hotels in the UK and it is also planning on opening a £10m 81-bedroom hotel in North Walsham.

Anthony Parkin, who works at Rainbow Park fairground, praised the plans.

"Anything that brings people into the town is a good thing for Hunstanton," he said.

Nicola, 46, a first-time holidaymaker to Hunstanton, said she had noticed there was already "quite a lot of accommodation" in the town which "isn't overly busy".

"It could bring a lot more people to the area but equally it could affect the local accommodation already here," she added.

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