Premier Inn plans for Bognor Road hotel in Chichester

Whitbread PLC, the parent company of Premier Inn, has announced it is planning to open a new 82-bedroom hotel on Bognor Road, in Chichester.

The new location would expand Premier Inn’s total capacity in the Chichester area to 165 rooms, adding to the existing venue at Gate Leisure Park.

Louise Woodruff, acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said: "From Roman ruins to the racing circuit at Goodwood, Chichester’s diverse cultural offer and successful business economy is fuelling year-round demand for high-quality, affordable hotel bedrooms from our customers.

"This consistent demand has underpinned our search for a suitable second Premier Inn location in Chichester which we are pleased to have acquired from Hanbury Properties, who have provided us with a fully serviced site, ready for development in the spring.

"Purchasing the site freehold shows how flexible we can be to bring high-quality locations like this one into our pipeline."

The hotel site, near the main A27/A259 junction, is intended to attract both business and leisure travellers. 

James Belbin, director of Hanbury Properties, said: "We’re delighted to complete the sale of this site to Premier Inn and look forward to seeing their plans come to life.

"It’s an excellent location for a new hotel and will help to underpin the next phase of development at Cathedral Business Park."

The project forms part of Whitbread’s broader investment strategy for Sussex and the south coast.

Later this year, the company is set to open a new Premier Inn on Bognor Regis Seafront in April and construction on its first Littlehampton town centre site is due to commence in February.

It is also aiming to open a seafront hotel in Brighton in 2028, and is seeking a location for a hotel in Rye.

The company currently operates more than 840 hotels and close to 86,000 bedrooms across the UK and Ireland.