Premier Inn plans 33-bedroom extension at The Woodpecker hotel

Whitbread – owners of the Premier Inn brand – has applied to Cheshire West and Chester Council for permission to build a two-storey annexe for its ‘Northwich South’ hotel at The Woodpecker in London Road.

The additional bedrooms – along with landscaping and car parking space – would meet what owners call a ‘need’ for extra space.

A planning statement said: “Premier Inn has identified a considerable demand for additional hotel accommodation within this location. This proposal for 33 additional bedrooms would significantly help address this demand.

“The extension would represent an efficient use of previously developed land and would encourage the expansion of an existing operation bringing significant economic benefits.

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“The proposal responds to the pressing requirement to deliver additional rooms at this popular site in the most efficient and deliverable form possible. This has been achieved while maintaining the high design standards set by the original hotel.”

If approved by CWAC, the extension would follow similar moves at the hotel in 2011 and 2015 – taking the number of bedrooms up from an original 21 to a new total of 100.

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The new structure, which developers say ‘matches the existing hotel’, would be built on the southern area of the site – adjacent to the A533 and 30 metres from properties in Woodpecker Drive.

Designs submitted as part of the planning application show that, while some of the existing car park would be built upon, extra spaces would be created to the east.

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In total eight new parking spaces would be created, boosting the overall availability on site to 119. Access to the hotel would remain the same, from London Road.

The site has been in use as a hotel since the Woodpecker Hotel opened in the 1960s.