PLANS to bring a Premier Inn to the current derelict Bude Strand Hotel site now include the demolition of the existing building. The new move will allow for more bedrooms than first planned.

Whitbread Plc, which owns Premier Inn, applied for planning permission in January to build the chain hotel. Richard Pearson, of Premier Inn, said the proposal would deliver a 55-bedroom inn that would regenerate the former Strand Hotel.

This original application was to convert the existing building into a Premier Inn, adding an extra floor in doing so, but the updated application would see a complete rebuild, following the proposed demolition of the Strand Hotel. It would result in a 62-bedroom Premier Inn with associated bar and restaurant facilities.

The original application was for a 55-bedroom hotel.

When the original application went before Bude-Stratton Town Council’s planning committee, although councillors were pleased to have a major company show their intent to invest in the town, concerns were raised about the design. Councillors said they hoped ‘some of the integrity and character of the original buildings on the Strand be incorporated into the new proposed plans’.

Many Bude residents were also in support of the arrival of a Premier Inn but felt the building should be in keeping with the area, and many comments on the Cornwall Council website made this view clear — similar comments are being made about the new application.

One contributor noted: ‘In my opinion the entrance to Bude is vitally important and first impressions are presently spoilt by the Strand Hotel. It has no historic or architectural value, only a white elephant preventing neighbouring businesses to succeed.

Yes, pull it down and start again, but hopefully the planning department will constrict building designs to be in keeping with a Cornish seaside town and not a modern city suburb.’

The proposed plans for the new Premier Inn design are available on the Cornwall Council website using application number PA15/07136. The proposed north, west and south elevation drawings include pitched roofs and a dormer window.

John Bates, head of acquisitions (South) for Premier Inn, said: “We have submitted a planning application to Cornwall Council, which, if approved, would create circa £5-million in fresh investment and new year-round jobs for the local area.

“We are planning to rebuild the hotel to increase the number of bedrooms and to improve the overall quality of the hotel — regenerating the derelict site and offering visitors more quality accommodation in Bude.

“All being well, we hope to start work on site in the winter for a late 2016 completion.”