Plan for hotel is unveiled

A multi-million pound investment leading to a brand new hotel, pub and restaurant is being planned in Rugeley.

The £4.5 million scheme is for a three-storey, 50-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and a two-storey Table Table pub and restaurant on land at Towers Business Park off the A513 Armitage Road.

Around 60 new jobs could be created to run the hotel and the restaurant on the 1.8-acre site.

Whitbread Group Plc has submitted an application for full planning permission, including access, car parking and landscaping of the area, to Cannock Chase Council.

Paul Brown, a spokesman for Premier Inn, said: "It is a great location for us and has been one of our identified areas for development for some time. There is a lot of demand for what we can offer, particularly for a hotel between Lichfield and Stafford.

"There is also the advantage of being located on the business park. We hope to cater for business visitors."

There will now be public consultation about the plans with residents and parish councils able to make comments. The final decision on whether to give the go-ahead lies with planning bosses at Cannock Chase Council. If the plans are approved, Mr Brown said Premier Inn would be looking to start building work as soon as possible.

Whitbread Group bought the land in July from Advantage West Midlands which has invested millions on the former 100-acre colliery site on the outskirts of the town.