Weymouth: Premier Inn expansion plans moves to next stage

If approved by Dorset Council, it will result in the demolition of what was once the Beefeater restaurant on Mercery Road to make space for more hotel rooms for the Premier Inn chain.

The steak restaurant closed earlier this year and has since been used by Premier Inn as a restaurant for hotel guests only.

Once the Beefeater is demolished, it would then be replaced with a new three-storey annex providing additional hotel bedrooms and a new hotel restaurant.

The site currently offers 87 bedrooms and the new annex will add an additional 35 rooms, if approved.

The old Beefeater restaurant, left, could be demolished to make way for more rooms for the nearby Premier Inn (Image: Hollie Carr)

The existing restaurant facilities will be relocated within the new annexe and will have a capacity of 80 covers. The proposed replacement building would continue to face onto Mercery Road.

Proposals also show there will be room for 14 additional parking spaces, bringing the total to 115.

In the application form, the company claimed there was a "considerable demand for additional budget hotel accommodation."

The document read: "The existing hotel restaurant has shown a continued shortfall in demand.

"The applicant therefore seeks to reconfigure the hotel bedroom and restaurant offer on the site to ensure its success and future viability."

The Beefeater, which opened its Mercery Road site in 2013, officially shut to the public in July following a huge shake up within the company.

At the time, Whitbread, which owned the restaurant and Premier Inn, revealed plans to axe around 1,500 jobs across the UK amid plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants by more than 200 in favour of building more hotel rooms.

The plans were discussed at a meeting of the planning and licensing committee at Weymouth Town Council on Tuesday.

Premier Inn exterior (Image: Hollie Carr) Cllr Matt Bell said: "It's in a prime location in a Dorset Council ward. 

"I want us to positively support this. The additional 36 rooms will be filled with paying customers and paying tourists which will be good for the economy."

Committee members unanimously approved the plans and it will now be submitted to Dorset Council.

The committee acts as an advisory board and can submit comments to the plans, but Dorset Council will have the overall decision on whether it is approved.