Bristol Bear Pit hotel could be demolished
The plans could see a much taller building built in its place
One of Bristol's most recognisable high rises looks set to be demolished, with the owners saying it is reaching the end of its life.
Whitbread, a hospitality firm which owns the Premier Inn hotel on the Bear Pit roundabout, says it wants to knock it down and replace it with two new tower blocks featuring homes and student accommodation.
The company says it is working alongside development partner Olympian Homes on the idea.
It adds its looking for new locations for a city centre Premier Inn, on the Harbourside or in the Temple Quarter area.
“The Premier Inn at Haymarket is at the end of its life," Richard Pearson, Whitbread Development Manager, said.
"Though the location is great the current building does not provide the high brand standards our customers expect of us, and it needs substantial investment.
"We also have a much newer Premier Inn at Lewins Mead which is a short walk from the Haymarket hotel and serves the same catchment.
“Redeveloping the site presents an opportunity to realise the true potential of the gateway location for the city, whilst generating funds to reinvest in our network modern and energy efficient hotels in Bristol and elsewhere.
"The sale is part of our strategy of ensuring our hotel offer is of the highest quality and in the very best locations for our customers.”
The current building, which is 20 storeys tall, was originally built in 1972 as an Avon County Council office.
If approved, Whitbread's plans would reveal the Grade 1 listed St James’ Priory currently obscured by the hotel, the firm says.
The two new buildings proposed would be a 28-storey student accommodation block with 445 beds; and an 18-storey co-living building with 136 bedrooms.
We're told the proposals will include a new ground floor café which would open onto both the bus/coach station and the roundabout.
"It is expected to be a low or zero car parking scheme, given its city centre location immediately adjacent to Bristol bus and coach station and 20 per cent of the co-living homes would be affordable," a statement from Whitbread reads.
The draft designs will be revealed in the coming weeks as part of a community consultation.