We visit former Britannia Hotel to find out what locals think the empty building should now be used for
We travelled to the now closed Britannia Hotel to find out what locals think the empty building should now be used for.
Earlier this week, the Express & Star exclusively revealed that a hotel that’s been at the heart of a debate about asylum housing is set to be refurbished and opened to the public.
The former Britannia Hotel site had become known for supplying emergency accommodation on behalf of the UK Home Office for almost five years.
Though now the building is empty.
We headed down to Lichfield Street, in the city centre, where the building has been owned by the hotel chain since 1995.
We asked locals in the area, what they think the building should be used for.
For Alan, 53 from Bushbury he believed the site should be used for something that local people can benefit from.
“Probably something for the local people, a daytime place for somewhere for people to go. He suggested it could turn into an “arts, culture centre”.
For him the building stands out for its history, “It stands out a lot, and it's it's old compared to a lot of the modern stuff. It's a nice looking building.”
Leban, 18, from Fordhouses thinks the building should be re-opened.
He said: “They should reopen it.” He also suggested that it could potentially extend the theatre.
Leban said he has never given the hotel much thought, sharing “I've been living here for seven years now, I only noticed it a couple of weeks ago.”
For Phil, 37, from Fordhouses shared that due his experiences with homelessness, he’d like the hotel to turn into “a little hostel or something along those lines. I can't really see it making much business as a hotel again, but I would like to see it as a hostel again.”
Phil felt that the hotel was “iconic”.
He said, “It’s iconic, it is very iconic. I don’t think there’s a person alive in Wolverhampton who doesn’t know what the Britannia Hotel is. If you could keep the building that would be great. Because, it is an iconic building, everyone does know it.”
Meanwhile for, Martin Hill, 75 from Penn said that the building should remain as a hotel for tourists travelling to Wolverhampton.
“We should have people staying there, to be honest with you. It's usually a tourist attraction.
“People comes to town to see what the town's like.”
What do you think the hotel should be used for? Let us know in the comments below.
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