PREMIER Inn has pulled the plug on plans for a new 94-bedroom hotel in Chester city centre.

The hotel chain confirmed to The Standard that the Pepper Street scheme, which would have included a Bar + Block restaurant, is no longer going ahead.

It had been due to take on the lease for the completed building within the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, but has decided against it after "the developer went into administration during construction" resulting in "long delays".

Planning permission for the development was granted back in 2018.

A Premier Inn spokesperson said: "The Premier Inn hotel and Bar + Block restaurant proposed at Pepper Street in Chester has faced a unique set of challenges over the past year.

"We had partnered with HIG Chester Property to build the hotel and restaurant for us, with Premier Inn due to take a lease of the final completed building.

"Unfortunately, the developer went into administration during construction. The result was that the developer’s bank took control of the building work – running the project through appointed receivers.

"As you can imagine this process took some time to work through with the result that the agreed contractual deadlines for delivering the hotel and restaurant to us were missed. This is despite our offer to extend deadlines over the course of last summer.

"The long delays we have experienced in waiting for the new hotel and restaurant has led us to decide to take up the contractual option not to accept the lease for the development.

"We will therefore not be opening a Premier Inn and Bar + Block on Pepper Street as originally planned.

"It is important to note that this decision relates to the unique circumstances at the Chester Pepper Street development and does not impact on our commitment to any other of our pipeline sites."