Whitbread, the owner of the Premier Inn, has re-started construction work on its brand new Sandown hotel and restaurant this week as the UK’s largest hospitality business focuses on safely continuing to build its pipeline of new hotels.
The construction of the 100-bedroom hotel and Cookhouse & Pub restaurant on Sandown Esplanade was temporarily halted on Wednesday 25th March following the introduction of the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus. The site has been monitored by 24/7 security since then.
Over recent weeks, Whitbread’s development team has been working with Carter Lauren, the principal building contractor for the development, to put in place strict new on-site controls and working practices to ensure social distancing and protect site workers and members of the public.
The new measures, put in place before workers return to site this week, are in line with the latest guidance from the Construction Leadership Council and Public Health England.
Richard Aldread, Head of Construction in the UK regions and Ireland for Premier Inn, said:
“The safety of our site teams has always been our number one priority when constructing new Premier Inn hotels, and it is more essential now than ever. The Government has been clear that construction activity is vital for the economy to bounce back, so we have been working closely with our contractor Carter Lauren to introduce additional controls and working practices on our development site on Sandown Esplanade.
“The measures we’re introducing are in line with the latest guidance from the Construction Leadership Council and will allow us to complete the hotel and Cookhouse and Pub restaurant with social distancing measures in place.”
Site preparation and demolition work started on the new hotel and restaurant in 2017 with construction commencing in early 2019. With workers now returning to site this week, Whitbread is targeting for the new hotel to open in Autumn 2020 with approximately 65 new team members expected to work at the hotel on opening.
On completion the Sandown Premier Inn will be Whitbread’s third Premier Inn hotel on the Isle of Wight. It will also be the first hotel on the island to feature Whitbread’s family friendly Cookhouse & Pub restaurant format.
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