Revealed: 7-storey hotel planned for old Royal Mail HQ

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A SEVEN-STOREY hotel with 117 beds could be built on the doorstep of Colchester’s Castle Park.

Premier Inn wants to demolish former Royal Mail base, Colnebank House.

If a planning application to Colchester Council is approved, the hotel would be yards from an entrance to Castle Park, and overlook the Grade II-listed Middle Mill Cottage.

The application reveals discussions have already taken place with Colchester Council officers, which has resulted in the chain reducing the scale of the building.

Dimitri Murray, from the Dutch Quarter Association, said he did not believe residents would be in favour of a hotel there.

He added: “Our committee hasn’t discussed it yet, but initially we think the building is much too big.

“It is out of keeping with the surroundings. It’s not designated as an area for a hotel, so we don’t see the need for it.”

The 0.25 hectare site would include the hotel, rising to seven storeys at some points, and a 40-space car park.

In the past, large buildings alongside the River Colne, off St Peter’s Street, have been demolished and replaced with smaller housing developments.

Mr Murray added: “We have got this beautiful riverside and we seem to be destroying it by plonking big buildings in front of it. We’re trying to get rid of these buildings, not add to them.”

A survey in 2007 found Colchester needed up to four new hotels. A 99-bed Holiday Inn Express will be opened near the A12 at Dedham this spring.