No room for Premier Inn!
After seeing off McDonald’s, locals in Tavistock wage war on budget hotel
WHEN McDonald’s opened in the pretty town of tavistock, it was forced to close because proud residents shunned it in favour of local produce.
now Premier Inn is facing similar resistance in the Devonshire town after submitting plans for an 80-room hotel.
Critics say the budget chain’s scheme would ‘disembowel’ the local hotel and B&B trade and damage family businesses that supply them with food and services. tensions are rising ahead of a meeting on tuesday when members of West Devon Borough Council will make a decision about the multi-million pound proposal.
the council has already provisionally agreed to back the plans, which would create 35 new jobs in the town.
however, anti-corporate sentiment is rising and the words ‘no Chain hotel in tavi’ have appeared above an estate agent’s office in the town.
An online petition has been launched by resident Andy Coulson, who says councillors have not considered the risks.
he said: ‘ People will say, “What’s wrong with competition?” What’s wrong with competition is when you put an apex predator into a chicken coop.
‘the hotels are mostly all independent, we are very lucky to have that here, and they are important because they use local suppliers. they buy meat from Palmer’s of tavistock and fresh fruit and vegetables from Continental Fruits.
‘When you get direct competition with a huge corporation, inevitably it will take away business.’ others disagree and say a Premier Inn could bring an extra £2.7million into the town’s economy every year.
Kelvin Coker argued online: ‘tavistock is against anything in the modern world. Moaned like hell about Wetherspoons and tesco, strangely they are the busiest places in the town now.’
McDonald’s opened an outlet just outside tavistock in 1999 – to widespread opposition. It was cold- shouldered by local people and closed in 2006.
Ryan McQueen said tavistock is ‘a lacking town in many ways’. ‘I still don’t understand why they did that [got rid of McDonald’s] but a Premier Inn with a decent Beefeater-style restaurant would be awesome,’ he said. the council has admitted the yearly rent paid by the new hotel would help fill a hole in its budget.
Conservative council leader Philip Sanders added: ‘hotels like this tend to provide a different kind of overnight accommodation from what we have in tavistock at the moment.
‘With a major hotel chain, one which is renowned for offering value for money, tavistock will be able to say it boasts a wide range of hotel accommodation for visitors to choose from.’
Premier Inn said it had identified the area near Dartmoor national Park as a hotspot for custom. A spokesman said: ‘We are not committed to any particular sites at this stage.
‘We will happily engage and consult with the local community when we do, as we believe we bring a lot to market towns.’