Mercure Hotel in Bridgwater given permission to expand

The Mercure Hotel on Eastover, which forms part of the town’s Celebration Mile, was opened in late-2018 by former England and Somerset cricketer Marcus Trescothick, alongside Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger.

DC Hotels (Bridgwater) Ltd was granted permission in late-May for permission to convert the former Aldi supermarket next door to the hotel into a “multi-functional events and conference centre”.

The same company has now been granted permission by Somerset Council to extend the hotel, providing an additional 15 rooms for paying customers.

The planned extension will be built along Eastover, with the existing access to the former supermarket being stopped up (though the undercroft access will be retained).

The new rooms will be arranged over five floors, with a communal area being created on the ground floor.

The same company has been granted permission to convert the former Aldi supermarket into a conference centre. (Image: Newsquest)

The existing car parking will be reconfigured to provide joint parking for the hotel and conference centre off the A38 Broadway.

The hotel also lies within close proximity of the town’s former community hospital on Salmon Parade, which will be converted into a new health and social care academy following a successful £19.3m bid to the government’s levelling up fund.

A spokesman for Key Architecture (representing the applicant) stated in May: “These proposals for the hotel extension, as well as the events centre, are aimed at enhancing the existing hotel service provision.

“This proposal would not only secure a centrally located visitor and tourist facility to be built on previously developed land, but would also secure the provision of employment on the site.

“We have a requirement for additional facilities to cater for extended-stay guests in the form of apartments, as well as large volume spaces capable of hosting a variety of activities such as banqueting, seminars and exhibitions.

“The economic impact of the introduction of these proposals would be a positive one, as hotel apartments and the events centre would introduce new customer groups into Bridgwater to support and utilise local amenities and commercial facilities.”

An artist's impression of how the extended hotel on Eastover could look. (Image: Key Architecture)

The decision to approve the hotel’s expansion was made by the council’s planning officers through their delegated powers, rather than being taken in public by its planning committee north, which handles significant planning applications in the former Sedgemoor area.

The junction nearest the hotel – where the A38 meets Eastover and the A372 St John’s Street – was revamped between January and July as part of the council’s traffic signals upgrade programme, at a cost of just over £1.7m to taxpayers.

How the neighbouring events centre could look when it is finished. (Image: Key Architecture)

The work to delivery the Eastover stretch of the Celebration Mile – which runs from the railway station to the Northgate Docks – is expected to get under way in January.

A total of £9m from the Bridgwater town deal will be spent delivering three key sections of the route – namely Eastover, Angel Crescent and Clare Street.

DC Hotels will now work with the council to ensure the construction work needed to extend the hotel does not disrupt these regeneration efforts.