Major 40-bed annexe expansion plan for Inverness Premier Inn hotel, unde rplans submitted to Highland Council
A major expansion is planned for a large Inverness hotel under proposals submitted to Highland Council.
Premier Inn has lodged an application to build a new annexe at its hotel on Glenurquhart Road - with 40 planned additional bedrooms increasing the site’s existing capacity of 130 by almost a third.
If approved, the new two-storey annexe building would be built at the western end of the existing site atop some of the hotel’s car parking spaces.
The new building would run perpendicular to the western end of the existing hotel range and would feature a similar green, white and black block wall cladding to that already present at the site.
In supporting documents submitted with the application, Premier Inn argues that the loss of some existing car parking will be offset by its recent decision to close the site’s Beefeater restaurant to non-residents. The popular eatery closed to the general public in early July, and is now used only for meals associated with guests.
Drawings lodged with the application state that the post-build parking layout will leave space for 147 vehicles, although reports lodged on behalf of the application - Premier Inn’s owner Whitbread - state that there will be 171 parking spaces on site once construction is complete.
Whitbread has been approached for clarification.
Speaking in the supporting document, RGP Consulting Engineers acting on behalf of Whitbread, said: “The proposals involve a net 40-bedroom annexe extension to the existing hotel, resulting in a total of 170 bedrooms, with 171 car parking spaces retained post-development.
“Access would continue to be afforded from Glenurquhart Road as per the existing arrangements.
“The proposals incorporate a conversion of the existing Beefeater restaurant to instead provide a smaller breakfast room to cater for guest meals (110 covers [down from 200]). In comparison to the existing restaurant, this ancillary breakfast room would not attract external trade from the local community, exclusively serving guests staying at the Premier Inn.
“Whilst the proposals would increase the number of guest bedrooms, any additional trips to the site would therefore be offset by the fact that the separate branded restaurant would be converted. This would also compensate for the additional demands for car parking from external visitors that the branded restaurant currently generates above those from hotel guests.”
The closure of the Beefeater restaurant at the hotel, and the new application for 40 additional bedrooms, are understood to be part of a wider strategy Whitbread is pursuing across the UK.
It recently announced the closure of 112 restaurants which had posted a combined loss of £19 million, with the firm eager instead to build on the success of its Premier Inn brand, which was the main driver behind recent pre-tax profits of £561 million.
To build on that growth, Whitbread announced the launch of an “Accelerating Growth Plan” aimed at adding 3500 new hotel rooms to Premier Inn’s UK operations. It was this push which spelt the end of the Beefeater in Inverness as a restaurant for non-residents and also fuelled the planned 40-bedroom annexe expansion.
