Green light for £12m Premier Inn hotel plan

A five-storey Premier Inn will be built on the site of a former hotel, despite concerns over potential harm to a city centre's medieval walls.

Cumberland Council approved plans submitted by Whitbread for a 104-bed hotel on the vacant site near the West Walls on Victoria Viaduct in Carlisle.

There has been a hotel on the site for almost 150 years, with the Grand Central Hotel built on the plot in 1881, later becoming the Central Plaza Hotel. It was demolished in 2020 after it became structurally unsafe.

It is hoped the new inn will bring an annual £4m boost to the city's economy and about 25 new hospitality jobs.

The council's decision paves the way for a £12m investment for Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn chain, to build Carlisle's fifth.

It was recommended that the application, which would incorporate a restaurant and bar, was granted subject to planning conditions

Planning officer Stephen Daniel said the development would bring "significant economic benefits" to the area because of the extra visitors.

He told members that councillor Robert Betton had written a letter to raise concerns over the heritage frontage and asked that the matter be deferred.

Carlisle MP Julie Minns had also requested the applicant should rethink the design, as it was not of sufficient quality, but Daniel said it was "considered to be acceptable".

Acquisitions manager for Whitbread Jill Anderson said the hotel would bring "long-term value" to the city.

"As a team we feel very passionate about this development," she said.

"Bringing the site back into use as a hotel will encourage people to stay in the city centre, supporting other existing businesses as our customers eat and drink out, and will create permanent, flexible, year-round hospitality jobs.

"Redeveloping constrained locations such as West Walls is not easy and we have overcome many hurdles to design a viable hotel development."

Additional reporting by Local Democracy Reporter Ian Duncan.

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