by Jenni Horn

jhorn@thekmgroup.co.uk

Hotel chain Premier Inn has been given planning permission to build a new 121 room hotel in the Towns.

The hotel will be located in the Medway Valley Leisure Park, Chariot Way, Strood.

It will be one of five new hotels being built across the UK by the Whitebread-owned hotel group. The deal also includes the 62-bedroom Premier Inn and Table Table restaurant at Newton Abbot racecourse in Devon, a 75-bed Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant in Newmarket, a 122-bed Premier Inn in Worcester at the Worcestershire County Cricket Club and a 155-bed hotel in Southampton.

John Bates, head of acquisitions for UK and Ireland for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “Securing these top locations is a fantastic result for Premier Inn and a welcome addition to our expanding portfolio.

"Bringing Premier Inn to some of the UK’s leading sports and leisure locations is a key part of our growth strategy. Our ongoing requirement for new sites and our flexible approach means we’re able to achieve innovative deals with developers who can think creatively.”

A phased development programme will see the first hotel opening in 2010/11 and the final one complete in 2013/14.