Contrary to rumours, the Premier Inn on the Marleberg Grange (or Salisbury Road) development is going ahead. And there is good news about its design.
The project already has outline planning consent. The Whitbread Group’s Premier Inn Ltd. has told marlborough.news: “We are working with Wiltshire Council’s planning department to achieve a detailed planning consent for the hotel within the Salisbury Road development.”
“A reserved matters application for the hotel has been submitted to Wiltshire Council and is due to be determined shortly.” Wiltshire Council’s target date for their final decision is October 26.
But the really good news is that the current discussions with Wiltshire Council’s planning department are based around an entirely new design for the 69 bedroom hotel on the one acre site.
The original design, which was ‘welcomed’ by Marlborough Town Council’s planning committee in April, was questioned by Wiltshire Council’s planning officer – especially as to the design’s austere, one dimensional roofline.
That design has been referred to by some Marlborough people as ‘the prison’. There is one view of that design in our April report.
This new design comes with the explanation that the first design “…was not based on any input from Whitbread or their design team. This was subsequently amended to suit the Whitbread’s specific design requirements…” – prior to the subsequent application.
The detailed papers with the application shows how the designers have taken account of various styles of architecture within the town. The Premier Inn documents state: “Whitbread have aspired to open a hotel in Marlborough for some time. The nearest existing Premier Inns are in Trowbridge, Swindon and Newbury. Additionally, the Town Council have also held a desire to see a hotel on this site.”
The design keeps the “…Thyme restaurant contained within the hotel. This provides restaurant, bar and lounge facilities, to compliment bedroom accommodation in the Premier Inn, and is primarily intended for guests.”
It also keeps the 64 car par spaces with four disabled parking spaces and hoops for 12 cycles. Premier Inn state that 69 bedrooms is “…the minimum which will provide a viable development for Whitbread.”
As one Marlborough resident told marlborough.news: “Well done Wiltshire planners for saving us from that ‘prison’ design.”