Luxury hotel chain confirms move to £100m park site
ONE of the world’s most prestigious hotel chains has officially confirmed it is coming to Hyndburn as part of a £100 million development.
Hampton by Hilton will build a 150-bedroom hotel at ‘Frontier Park’ in Whitebirk and will become the first Hilton Hotel in East Lancashire.
The Observer revealed in April last year how Hyndburn council chiefs and Frontier Park developers Euro Garages were in discussions with the hotel chain to move onto the site, off Junction 6 of the M65.
Planning permission was granted in February 2018 for a 150-bed hotel and 1,400-seater conference and banqueting hall which also includes a drive-thru KFC and Greggs, Spar, Starbucks and Totally Wicked outlet.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, Hilton’s senior vice president for development, has now confirmed the company are moving onto the site and will open in 2020.
He said: “Visitor numbers to Lancashire have grown for a sixth consecutive year and projects such as Frontier Park will further enhance the commercial appeal of the county.”
The announcement has been welcomed by community leaders in the borough.
Hyndburn council leader Miles Parkinson said: “Hilton is a standard that we all recognise across the world.
“It brings facilities not just for Hyndburn but for the wider East Lancashire to utilise and will also bring in additional jobs and investment. The site is fastly being developed not just for employment but now for leisure.
“It will also give the impetus for other establishments to improve their offering as well with competition coming in of a standard which hasn’t been seen in East Lancashire for some years.”
Conservative group leader and businessman councillor Tony Dobson said it is a ‘huge vote of confidence’ for the borough. He said: “For an area like Hyndburn to have a Hilton hotel is most welcome.
“I hope it will give confidence to other national and international companies to come and base themselves in Hyndburn.”
The hotel forms part of Monte Hospitality Limited’s business strategy to attract international brands to invest in Lancashire.
Irfan Ali, director of Monte Hospitality Limited, said: “Lancashire is in need of an internationally recognised hotel and this project will meet the growing demand for quality accommodation in the area.”