New £3.5m hotel proposal for Welwyn Garden City set for council consultation
A new £3.5m budget hotel earmarked for the centre of Welwyn Garden City is to be considered at a council consultation later this week.
The proposal would see a currently-empty office space transformed into a three-star, 74-bedroom hotel, above a line of existing shops.
The Welwyn Garden City Society and local councillor John Dean support the plans, which would benefit the area with the new jobs it would create.
However, a number of nearby hotels, including the Beales Hotel in Hatfield and the Mercure Hatfield Oak, have warned that any new hotel in the Welwyn area might hit business at already-struggling competitors.
There is also concern that the hotel would not have its own parking, resulting in guests having to use existing car parking spaces in the town or use public transport to visit.
An operator for the project has yet to be identified.
Budget hotel market has grown by 35% during the recession >>
