Shrewsbury’s £20m Hilton Hotel given the go-ahead
Leisure bosses say Shropshire’s growing tennis-tournament reputation will be boosted after a 146-bedroom hotel was given the green light by planners this afternoon.
Applicant Dave Courteen lodged outline plans for the development in October 2024, earmarked for land next to the existing David Lloyd Health Club – formerly known as the Shrewsbury Club – on the north-east edge of the county town.
It was the second time plans had been submitted for a hotel on the site, with an earlier application withdrawn in 2023 while other town centre locations were considered.
Now, following unanimous approval from the council’s Northern Planning Committee today, the two-and-a-half acre site will be built out by Hilton Hotels, with Shrewsbury targeted by the hospitality group for a “Hampton by Hilton” branded operation.
The development will become the group’s second hotel in Shropshire, with a 142-bedroom hotel also under construction in Telford, but bosses at the Hilton group say the facilities already in place at the next-door health club provided a significant draw for the global chain.
“There is a marriage value with the Shrewsbury club that we see as a significant benefit to this location,” said Nick Smart, Hilton Group’s vice president for development in North & West Europe, in a letter submitted in support the plans.
“Specifically, this co-location with the Shrewsbury Club is attractive to Hilton because it offers the opportunity to support events held at The Shrewsbury Club e.g. ITF World Tour, and it is well located through public transport connections to access Shrewsbury Town Centre to visit tourist attractions, local shopping and food and beverage premises.”
A sequential site assessment had ruled out six other potential locations in the town including Shrewsbury’s stalled Riverside regeneration scheme, with the existing Premier Inn and “unclear” timescales for the project offered as part of the reason it was deemed unsuitable.
The development had to overcome an objection from Shrewsbury’s Green Party, who described its four-storey scale as “excessive”, and feared it would cause an increase in car traffic between the site and Shrewsbury town centre, around three miles away.
However a report from Shropshire Council’s planning officer brushed aside those concerns, saying they considered the site accessible by a range of sustainable modes of transport due to the location of bus stops along Sundorne Road, which served regular routes into town.
“The hotel would provide new visitor accommodation that is linked to an existing and well-established leisure facility, in turn generating clear economic and tourism benefits, consistent with the policy objectives,” they wrote.
An amendment to ensure the development of a full active travel plan for the scheme, integrated with the Shrewsbury Moves transport strategy, was also supported.
Plans and documents relating to the application can be found on Shropshire Council’s planning portal using reference: 24/03877/OUT
