IT DIDN’T open this Summer as planned – but progress is being made on Rhyl’s new hotel and restaurant on West Parade. 

Tall boards around the former Honey Club site – showcasing the arrival of Premier Inn – arrived last July. Planning consent was granted in May 2016 for a 70-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, Brewers Fayre restaurant and 71 car parking spaces. 

An application – for the display of signage in relation to the restaurant and hotel – has now been submitted to Denbighshire County Council by Whitbread PLC.

Councillor Joan Butterfield, of Rhyl West, said: “It has been a long time coming – it has been an epic amount of time. It was coming, then there was doubt it was coming, then it was coming again. It has just trundled along.  

“It is now in it final stages. Early New Year I would like to see it open. Our season is very short. The occupancy for 2018, if it is open in the New Year, is not going to be as large as if it did open in the Summer. We have left it a bit late.

“People are started to see the regeneration of Rhyl - work is happening. For example, the work on the aquatic centre is due to start at the end of this month. It is too late with this development now, but if we are working towards something or building something, I think it would be nice to see information boards. The Range – on Marina Quay – should really be open by now but it was due to some governance/documents that delayed it, but it is all sorted now and that is in the past. It is getting kitted out.

“It does disappoint me when I look on Facebook and people are always wanting to turn the clock back. We have never – as a council – run a fun fair, that was privately owned, but we are a family resort. Some people don’t quite get the regeneration, but there is a lot to look forward to and we are moving forward.”

The hotel and restaurant development is part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of the Rhyl waterfront and surrounding area, including the nearby Marina Quay.

Whitbread have been approached for comment.