Thurso Premier Inn expected to open within next nine months
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THURSO's new Premier Inn should open in the next nine months, according to a director of the company that owns the hotel chain.
Alex Flach, Whitbread's UK development director, said that the project is part of a £55 million investment in Scotland and includes three other new builds – in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Hamilton. Work at all four sites resumed this week following the easing of the restrictions which were in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Thurso hotel, which is being built at the former mart site at Ormlie Road, will be the company's most northerly on the UK mainland.
More than 190 new permanent jobs are expected to be created at the four hotels when they open in this financial year, with the recruitment process starting about three months ahead of a new site opening.
"The challenges currently facing the hospitality industry have not blunted our ambition to continue to grow the Premier Inn brand in Scotland," Mr Flach said. "We have been investing heavily in Scotland for years and these latest hotels continue our strategy of expanding Premier Inn in prime city centre locations, investing in regeneration schemes in well-connected towns and growing our network in popular tourist locations where we do not have a presence.
"The Scottish Government has been clear that construction is important in helping the economy to bounce back from the crisis. Before reopening our sites in Scotland, we have been working closely with our development and construction partners to ensure we can continue to invest and deliver our new hotels while meeting the latest industry guidance on social distancing.
The challenges have not blunted our ambition to continue to grow the Premier Inn brand in Scotland.
"The sites look different, with fewer workers on site at any one time, but we’re pleased to be back and progressing with the builds under the new working arrangements."
Whitbread has put in place additional measures to protect workers and the general public and ensure social distancing.
Work on the Premier Inn got under way last July and was expected to take about a year to complete but was halted as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. It is hoped the hotel may be a catalyst for further development at the former nine-acre mart site which is owned by Pentland Properties. The hotel is being built by contractor Morrison Construction.
Whitbread received planning permission in November 2018 for a three-storey, 81-bed hotel and car park at the Thurso site. The development is expected to create around 30 jobs.
Earlier this month, the company announced that it was restarting work on 35 construction sites in England and Wales in line with public health and industry guidance.
Whitbread has over 800 hotels in the UK and by the end of the year expects to operate a total of 20 hotels in Germany.
