Premier Inn-coming

Thursday 27 June 2019

Plans for Guernsey's first Premier Inn have finally been announced, with works scheduled to be completed by December 2021.

The 100-bedroom hotel will form part of a £35m private development of a derelict site at Admiral Park.

The works, which are being undertaken by local property developer Comprop, will also include office accommodation, a restaurant/brasserie and a 384-space multi-storey car park.

The new development has been awarded full planning permission and mobilisation work is due to begin in the next 4-6 weeks with the demolition of Sydney Vane House.

The main project will begin in autumn of this year.

"We are delighted to be able to announce that the Admiral Park project will see Comprop once again injecting significant private sector money into the economy - which will mean jobs for local residents, expansion opportunities for island businesses and a significant boost for the tourism industry," said Managing Director of Comprop Steve Marie.

"It also presents the first new construction of large scale offices for a number of years which will give added flexibility to the office market."

Major upgrades to the general infrastructure of Elizabeth Avenue will be carried out as part of the development, along with extensive landscaping of the area.

"The infrastructure changes are planned to improve the use of Elizabeth Avenue with an extended slip lane into Les Banques and new traffic signals to help reduce some of the congestion at peak times," added Mr Marie.

Mr Marie said those waiting for a cinema to be built at Admiral Park may be waiting a while longer however, as no operators have yet signed a contract. 

"We are not ruling out the opportunity for a cinema on the site and would welcome any approaches from operators and explore opportunities if they arise. Our discussions with Whitbread, Premier Inn's parent company, have led to today's announcement, so all things are possible."

Local building contractor JW Rihoy & Son has been awarded the contract for the complete Admiral Park development.

Pictured: Comprop has not ruled out building a new cinema on the remaining land. Image from compropci.com.

Head of Acquisitions in London and the south for Premier Inn, Derek Griffin, added: "We launched our first Premier Inn hotel in the Channel Islands almost a year ago. The success of the hotel at Charing Cross in St Helier has given us the confidence to invest in a further site on Jersey and now our first Premier Inn on Guernsey.

"A new Premier Inn on Guernsey will bring many benefits to the island. It will bring a different type of accommodation to Guernsey, diversifying the accommodation offer for business and leisure guests. It will also create new year-round jobs with the UK's leading hotel business, and our strong brand and established marketing channels will help to promote the island to existing Premier Inn customers who may not immediately think to visit.

"Admiral Park is an excellent location for our first Guernsey hotel. It has the accessibility and transport connections Premier Inn customers expect and we are looking forward to working with Comprop on the construction of the new hotel over the next two years."

After having built offices, new homes, Checkers (now Waitrose) and the B&Q buildings, Comprop has spent some time considering what to do with the remaining land. This development will use up two thirds of the available space, with the rest being held for future development.

The Premier Inn at Charing Cross in St Helier was launched in July 2018. A planning application for Whitbread's second site in Jersey - a 122-bedroom hotel in Bath Street - was submitted to the Jersey Government in April 2019.