Plans to convert an empty restaurant in South Cumbria into extra hotel rooms has been given the go-ahead.
Whitbread closed the Wakefield Arms, part of the Premier Inn in Kendal, in July and asked Westmorland & Furness Council for permission to create more rooms to help meet the area’s considerable demand for accommodation.
The authority approved the plans and the restaurant will be turned into seven bedrooms, taking the hotel’s total to 99, and a breakfast room.
Council planners said: “The proposal is suitably located outside of the primary shopping area, complying with the development strategy for Kendal town centre.
“It will contribute to the vitality and viability of the town by bringing a currently vacant building back into use and expand a well-established hotel. This sustainable development will deliver economic benefits.”
Premier Inn said: “Premier Inn has identified a considerable demand for additional budget hotel accommodation in this location. It is also acting to reconfigure the restaurant proposition to ensure it best fits customers’ needs in select locations.
“This proposal for additional bedrooms and an adjusted restaurant proposition would meet Premier Inn’s operational requirements in the area and help address the demand for bedrooms.”
