Planning permission for £15m hotel close to Luton Airport

The eight-storey premises will have 171 bedrooms, a fitness centre and a rooftop bar.

It will be partly built on the car park of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel with a loss of nine spaces, the borough council’s development control committee heard.

“Both hotels will share the remaining 99 parking spaces,” planning officer Abi Chapman told the committee meeting.

“The site is located between Airport Way and New Airport Way,” she said.

Planning permission was previously granted for a nine-storey hotel with 250 bedrooms, a bar and restaurant, and meeting rooms on the ground floor, according to a report to councillors.

The current hotel has been operating since 2018, she added.

Planning consultant for the applicant, the Molo Hotel Group, Neil Jones said: “The new hotel will represent a significant investment of around £15m in the borough by the firm.

“It will create new employment opportunities for local people, with up to 100 jobs available during the building phase and around 30 in various roles at the operational stage.

“These are significant economic benefits from the development, which can be built at the earliest opportunity if planning permission is granted.

“It will provide new high quality hotel accommodation to meet an identified need, in a sustainable location, providing significant inward investment within the borough.”

Labour Round Green councillor Mark Rivers wondered what other facilities might be planned, such as conferencing.

Mr Jones said it would be associated guest amenities on the ground floor, as well as the fitness centre and rooftop bar, all for hotel users.

Labour Farley councillor Dave Taylor, who chairs the committee, asked about any “long-term parking for airport users”, and whether “someone going away for a fortnight’s holiday would be allowed to leave their car there”.

Mr Jones replied: “Not to my knowledge, no.”

Molo Hotels (Luton 2) Limited’s proposed development will share an access with the neighbouring Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, said the report.

“There are several other high rise hotels within the area which serve the airport.

“The bar and lounge area and fitness suite are proposed to be located on the eighth floor to provide runway views.”

The airport will be back to pre-pandemic passenger capacity within three years, the report predicted.

“The local authority hasn’t received any evidence to suggest that this won’t be the case,” it added.

“The findings of the predicted growth of passenger numbers using the airport and associated demand for hotel rooms is accepted.

“The proposed development will result in a more efficient use of land than at present, and will result in both economic and regeneration benefits.”

Councillors unanimously approved the scheme.