A PREMIER Inn which a councillor claimed was accommodating some people in need of temporary housing in Carmarthenshire has been granted a new premises licence.
A council licensing sub-committee heard the hotel at Pemberton Business Park, Llanelli, already had a premises licence but needed a new one because of plans to partially redevelop and update the site.
The redevelopment will result in the demolition of the hotel’s adjacent bar and restaurant, which will be relocated to the ground floor of the bedrooms building. The new licence is for this re-purposed section of bedrooms building. An additional bedroom block will replace the former bar and restaurant.
Tim Shield, a solicitor on behalf of Premier Inn owner Whitbread Group plc, told the sub-committee that planning approval had been given for the revamp project.
He said there have been no previous issues regarding the operation of the hotel and no objections to the licensing application from key consultees, known as responsible authorities, such as the council or police.
“We hope to continue to be a positive addition to this area,” he said.
Cllr Sharen Davies, who represents Llanelli’s Llwynhendy ward, contacted the council’s licensing department to raise concerns about the proposed hours for sale of alcohol – namely 10am to 00.30am seven days a week – among other things.
Her email to the department alleged the hotel was being used by the council to house “homeless individuals and vulnerable residents” and that the proposed licensing hours posed “a real risk of increased noise, anti-social behaviour, and disruption to both vulnerable occupants and the quiet surrounding area”.
Mr Shield addressed her objection at the meeting only to say there were people who required accommodation via their council and that he did not wish to go into detail. Whitbread Group later said it did not accommodate homeless people.
Mr Shield said the Premier Inn operating model was based on leisure and business use and that there was no evidence of any issues with how the hotel at Pemberton Business Park was being run. Cllr Davies did not attend the meeting.
Sub-committee member Cllr Mansel Charles thanked Mr Shield for his submissions. “Everything is quite clear to me,” he said. “It is a shame in one way that the persons who are opposed to this have not bothered to come here to state their case today.”
Documents submitted in support of Whitbread Group’s application said the existing premises licence had the same hours of operation but more licensable activities than the one sought.
The sub-committee retired to consider the evidence before unanimously granting the new licence, subject to conditions agreed in advance between Whitbread Group and Dyfed-Powys Police. These include various CCTV requirements and a policy of challenging anyone who looks under 21 to provide identification if they ask to buy alcohol.
A Whitbread Group spokeswoman said afterwards: “We don’t accommodate homeless individuals. On occasion, we provide hotel rooms to local councils covering a range of uses including for council employees as well as residents in need of emergency or temporary accommodation. Examples include council tenants who need a short-term place to stay due to an unexpected circumstance like emergency maintenance, essential repairs or flooding.
“In such eventualities, clear service level agreements are in place which outline which guests we are unable to accommodate for operational or guest comfort reasons because our hotels aren’t suitable to meet their needs. For example long-term stays are not appropriate as we have a lack of cooking facilities and communal areas.”
