Petersfield hotel set to expand as visitor numbers increase

A PETERSFIELD hotel is to expand to cope with visitor demand.

The Great Oak Premier Inn hotel off Winchester Road has 51 guest bedrooms, but now a two- storey 31-bedroom annex has been approved by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). The car park is to increase by 28 spaces.

Mark Thackeray for Premier Inns reported that in the past year the hotel had been virtually fully booked.

He added: “It is a successful and popular asset to tourism in Petersfield, understandably so with the major leisure attractions on the doorstep. For much of the week it is full and business is turned away or redirected.” The demand was expected to grow.

EHDC’s Nick Upton said the planning committee, rather than officers, had decided the application. This was because part of the proposed extension was on land earmarked for employment. But the need to expand the hotel outweighed the loss of a small section of land earmarked for a business park.