Work back on at easyHotel in Summertown, Oxford

Construction had ceased at the easyHotel in Summertown due to the coronavirus lockdown, but work is back on, with the hotel aiming to open in summer next year.

Work on the Banbury Road site began in May last year, with demolition work then following in July.

The hotel attracted plenty of interest and sparked much debate, with more than 400 objections coming in.

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David Faber, the headteacher of nearby Summerfields School, said during consultation on the plans that the lives of people living in nearby streets would be ‘made almost intolerable’ by the new hotel, while another objector said its design was ‘abysmal, like the worst buildings of the 1960s’.

Despite the objections, Oxford City Council gave planning permission for the Banbury Road hotel in 2018.

First pictures of the hotel were then released in October that year, and concerns were instantly raised surrounding parking problems.

The Summertown and St Margaret’s neighbourhood forum group said it would ‘exacerbate’ the area’s traffic, parking and pollution problems.

Nearby residents said they were worried about parking, however Alex Hollingsworth, a member of the West Area planning committee at the city council, said there was ‘no legitimate reason’ to turn planning permission down and if the committee rejected the application on those grounds, the council would lose an appeal.

The county council, as Oxfordshire’s transport authority, said it did not expect a substantial increase in parking in nearby streets.

easyHotel said traffic and parking would not be a problem as most of the visitors to the hotel will travel to it by public transport.

Thames Valley Police added that it did not object to the hotel entirely, but worried about crime prevention.

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It said landscaping on Banbury Road ‘should not impinge’ on street lights or CCTV.

The 180-bedroom hotel is set to bring 61 new jobs to the city.

The site was previously occupied by Majestic Wine and estate agent Knight Frank.

Meanwhile, construction work is starting again on a new Premier Inn, in Oxford’s city centre.

Whitbread, the owner of the Premier Inn chain, is restarting construction of its flagship Oxford Greyfriars Premier Inn, as the UK’s largest hospitality business focuses on safely continuing to build its latest hotels.

As with the easyHotel site, the construction of the 90-bedroom hotel in Paradise Square was temporarily halted following the introduction of the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus.

easyHotel offers budget hotel rooms in 40 locations across the globe, including France, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

There are 12 UK locations, which include Edinburgh, London and Reading.

easyHotel was founded in 2004 and opened its first hotel in 2005.

It is part of the easyGroup, founded in 1998 and owned by investors.

easyGroup has a portfolio of businesses, which includes the low-cost airline easyJet.