New Premier Inn will provide 'significant' economic boost to Carlisle

A PROPOSED new Premier Inn in Carlisle will give the city a 'significant' economic boost, according to the leader of Cumberland Council, Cllr Mark Fryer.
Cumberland Council announced on Wednesday, May 14, that Whitebread PLC, the parent company of the Premier Inn hotel chain, had secured the former Central Plaza site in Carlisle and intends to turn it into a new 104-bedroom hotel.
The 'Citadel View' site was previously home to the Grade II Central Plaza Hotel, which was demolished and cleared during 2020 after falling into disrepair in 2011.
The council, in partnership with property consultant CBRE, initially sought proposals from potential developers to redevelop the Victoria Viaduct site back in 2023 and has now selected Whitbread as the preferred developer due to the 'strength of its proposal' for the regeneration of the site.
Whitbread intends to submit a planning application for the new hotel this summer and is targeting an opening date before the end of 2028.
The view of the site from the street (Image: Stuart Walker)
Speaking to the News & Star at the site of the proposed Premier Inn on Wednesday, May 14, Cllr Mark Fryer expressed his belief that the new hotel will provide a 'significant' economic boost to Carlisle.
He said: "This hotel will give Carlisle a significant economic boost, there is no doubt about that.
"This will be the fifth Premier Inn in Carlisle, and that shows that Whitbread and others think that the city is a great place to invest.
"This site has been sitting like this for probably ten years, and I knew that if we were to have a significant impact in places like Carlisle and all the other towns we have got, it is their type of project.
"It has taken us two years to get here, and we have got a partner in Whitbread who are looking to develop the site out.
The location of the site on Victoria Viaduct (Image: Stuart Walker)
"We are going to planning in the next few months so they can then start to release their project team to develop the hotel."
The announcement of the impending development of the former Central Plaza comes in the midst of a number of projects being undertaken by Cumberland Council to regenerate Carlisle, including the ongoing Market Square and Greenmarket work.
In addition, metres from the site of the proposed Premier Inn, Devonshire Street remains closed until June as the council moves into the next phase of the Southern Gateway project, with Cllr Fryer discussing the current dynamic of disruption and development in the city.
Cllr Mark Fryer spoke to the press at the site on Wednesday (Image: Stuart Walker) He said: "It is an exciting time for the city... perversely, the more disruption you have is because you are more successful, and that is the key to it.
"We have to limit the disruption, but also develop the city and improve it.
"To economically develop the city, there is going to be some form of disruption, but in the end, it is always positive."

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