Plans to build a 120-bed hotel which could bring 100 jobs to Weston will go ahead after North Somerset Council approved the scheme.

Weston Mercury: An artist impression of the hotel. Picture credit: Mountford Pigott and Dowlas UKAn artist impression of the hotel. Picture credit: Mountford Pigott and Dowlas UK (Image: Mountford Pigott and Dowlas UK)

A Holiday Inn Express will be built at Weston Gateway Business Park, near junction 21 of the M5, after the council granted full planning permission this week.

The four-star hotel, which will be developed by MRMU and Dowlas, will cost £12million to build and is due to open in spring 2019.

Dowlas said the hotel will be a ‘welcome addition’ to Weston Gateway.

A spokesman added: “To be able to deliver the first four-star hotel for Weston will be a valuable attraction for future investment in the Junction 21 Enterprise Area.”

MRMU said the hotel will ‘provide a landmark building’ that will be an ‘asset to the town that will attract businesspeople and tourists alike’.

The approval comes as two of Weston’s hotels press on with their own expansion plans – meaning more than 200 new hotel rooms could be built in the town.

The Royal Hotel, in South Parade, recently submitted plans to expand which would triple its capacity to almost 120 rooms, and bring an underground car park and a new restaurant.

The Premier Inn, in Hutton Moor Road, has secured planning permission to expand by 40 rooms ‘in line with strong demand’, with construction already underway and due to finish in 2018.

The council’s executive member for economic development, Elfan Ap Rees, said it is ‘exciting times for Weston’.

He said: “It is all good news, and more rooms are needed.

“We are finding families are looking for good-quality accommodation and hotels like Premier Inn and Travelodge have demonstrated if you provide quality people will book.”

Cllr Ap Rees believes efforts to revitalise the town centre are proving successful in luring people to Weston.

He added: “It is clear the regeneration of Weston is attracting business for both tourism and business opportunities.

“Dolphin Square and the Italian Gardens are the most recent examples, and there are big plans for the area around the railway station and the old Victorian rubbish tip.”