Planners have approved major expansion plans for a budget Salford hotel, adding four new buildings to more than double the space it offers.
The Stay Inn Hotel, at the junction of Blackfriars Road and Trinity Way, will see 190 extra rooms added after outline plans were passed by Salford council.
The applicant Mr Shabbir Ahmed wants to demolish the existing three-storey, 65-room hotel building and replace it with four new buildings across two phases.
The plans include the addition of a gym, spa, restaurant and bar, which will be available to local residents.
A ‘landmark’ 9-11 storey tower block will be built at the corner of Blackfriars Road and Trinity Way, next door to the existing hotel.
The architects on the scheme are OMI.
The current red-brick building was constructed in 1996. The hotel itself employs around 20 staff.
It would stay open under the first phase of the plans, with the construction of four new buildings across two distinct phases.
Phase one would see the number of bedrooms increased from 65 to 160, with three new buildings constructed on site.
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The first is a three-storey block built at the rear of the site backing on to Canon Green Drive.
This is listed as a commercial and retail unit with office accomodation on the first floor, and 32 bedrooms on the first and second floors.
The second is a one-storey building running along the back of Hodson Street to be used as a gatehouse and entryway.
The third is the major build – a part 9 storey, part 11 storey tower block running parallel to Blackfriars Road, providing the bulk of the new hotel rooms.
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The second phase would see the existing hotel building demolished and replaced with a 7-storey tower block with 94 bedrooms, spa, gym and function rooms.
However the total number of car parking spaces in the development would drop from 65 to 49.
The final total floorspace added to the Stay Inn will be an extra 8,000sq ft.
Agents Paul Butler Associates note in the plans that: “Investing in the Blackfriars Road site is a long-term investment for the Stay Inn Hotel.
“Their business plan is to provide sufficient space to accommodate future growth in visitor demand and maintain its market position. The investment will allow the company to strengthen links with staff and suppliers.
“For the Salford economy the benefits of the investment include the retention of existing jobs with the prospect of new employment opportunities on the site.”
More detailed plans are expected to be submitted in a full planning application later in the year.
