Plans for an 80 bedroom Premier Inn hotel to be built just off the A38 in Ashburton have been unveiled.

The £5.2m scheme, submitted to Dartmoor National Park planners, would also see a restaurant and a car park built on the Dolbeare Meadow Business Park.

The three-storey hotel would create around 30 new jobs, documents submitted with the application state, adding that there is a need for a new hotel due to the ‘very limited’ hotel accommodation in the area.

Around 50,000 overnight stays would be accommodated by the hotel and it would have a £2m boost to the local economy, the planning statement claims.

Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like
Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like

Planning permission for office development for the rest of the site has already been granted.

A planning statement submitted with the scheme says: “The hotel will bring significant socio-economic benefits to Ashburton and the surrounding area. The proposed hotel represents a £5.2m investment, which will create over 70 full-time construction jobs and 22 full-time jobs in a range of posts and seniorities.

“The hotel is expected to accommodate around 50,000 overnight stays a year with the potential to capture annual visitor expenditure of £2m for the local economy, benefitting local eateries, public transport services, local tourist attractions, shops and services.

Haytor
Haytor

“Although Ashburton is the largest town in the Dartmoor National Park, it currently offers surprisingly few hotel bedrooms. The proposal would improve opportunities for people to visit and enjoy the National Park, using Ashburton as a base.

“The proposed development would make an efficient use of a previously development brownfield site that has failed to attract commercial interest over an extended period. The proposed hotel would bring significant socio-economic benefits and therefore granting planning permission is in the public interest.”

Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like
Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like

It adds: “The next nearest Premier Inn is at Newton Abbot and has an average occupancy of nearly 90 per cent. Premier Inn has been looking for some years for a location close to the A38 and within a town boundary, as the majority of customers wish to use local facilities during their stay, for example restaurants and pubs. Ashburton fulfils these criteria as it is midway between Exeter and Plymouth and would allow residents to use facilities in the town centre.

“Permitting the hotel will being investment into Ashburton and the creaton of new jobs. It will also help drive the development of the rest of the site for commercial uses. On the contrary, refusing the hotel could stall the development of the rest of the business park and would lose this potential investment for Ashburton.”

Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like
Artist impression of what the new Premier Inn in Ashburton could look like

The statement says that while the hotel development would be inside the boundary of the National Park, there is a demonstrable need for a new hotel that would benefit the local economy and there are no suitable sites outside of the National Park boundary that would need the meds or deliver the same benefits.

So far, there have been 15 letters of objections officially submitted against the plans, with 11 residents having written letters of support.

Ashburton town council at their meeting this week deferred making any comments on the application to allow them to gather more information about the effects of the hotel on the town.

Dartmoor National Park planners will determine the fate of the application at a later date.