‘Significant’ jobs boost for Chesterfield after plans for new hotel and apartments are approved

Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee has given WestOne Capital Group conditional permission to build the 133-room hotel and 34 apartments, along with a café and restaurant, on currently vacant land at Basil Close.

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Sheikh Momin Ahmed, chief executive of WestOne Capital Group, said: “We are very thankful that the borough council has supported our vision and we are looking forward to starting work on the site in the new year and bringing it a new lease of life.

“We are excited about delivering a new hotel to the area and creating employment.”

WestOne Capital Group is understood to have provisionally agreed terms with a budget hotel chain.

According to the borough council, there will be ‘significant employment, training and supply chain opportunities created during the construction phase and operational phase of the development’.

Documents which were considered by the planning committee on Monday also said: “The scheme delivers the opportunity to smarten a prominent corner plot at a key entry point into the town centre.”

Chesterfield Royal Hospital was based at the site before it relocated to Calow.

The apartment and hotel buildings will range from between six and seven storeys.

Eight parking spaces will also be created as part of the scheme – which is close to the site of the Northern Gateway.

“The developer may separately have a discussion with the borough council regarding an arrangement for parking on its car parks for hotel guests and residents of the apartments,” the planning committee was told.

When the plans were revealed by the Derbyshire Times last week, people had their say on social media.

Adam Törincsi commented on Facebook: “Fantastic news! We need more town centred residents to help drive growth in the centre.”

However, some people said ‘Chesterfield doesn’t need another hotel’.

But commenting on Twitter, Huw Bowen, the borough council’s chief executive, said: “From the studies I’ve seen there’s plenty of capacity in Chesterfield for additional hotel beds.

“The key is attracting staying visitors – the amount they spend in the local economy is many times that of day visitors.”

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