A HOTEL in Solihull has lost a planning appeal after councillors’ halted its expansion plans.
National hotel chain Premier Inn applied to Solihull Council to build an extension to its accommodation in Stratford Road, Monkspath.
But in December last year, the Solihull planning committee refused permission for a two-storey accommodation block, on the site of the Plough Inn and hotel.
The pub and hotel, on the south of Stratford Road, lie in the Birmingham green belt.
Solihull Council said the Premier Inn’s plans represented an ‘inappropriate development’ in the green belt.
Following the vote against the hotel, its owner Whitbread plc appealed to the Planning Inspectorate for a review.
Whitbread said it needed to build more rooms to meet demand in the Solihull area, which it could not do at its nearby hotels.
It said it could have accepted a further 300 bookings per month at the hotel.
The annex would have seen an addition of 30 rooms, to take hotel capacity up to 98 rooms.
The company suggested the project would boost employment in Solihull – but planning inspector Ben Plenty disagreed.
Mr Plenty stated: “Although some uplift in jobs would be expected there is no compelling evidence that the proposal would result in a substantive contribution to the local economy.”
He agreed with the borough council that a hotel extension would ‘harm the openness of the green belt’ between Monkspath and Cheswick Green.
