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Whitbread has submitted a planning application to redevelop the Leisureplex site in Cork City Centre into a 173-bedroom Premier Inn hotel.
If approved, the development to the east of the city centre will be the company’s second Premier Inn hotel in Cork and completes its bedroom requirement for the city.
Whitbread acquired the site, which sits on the corner of MacCurtain Street and Brian Boru Street (T23 TE84), in February 2024 a month after it opened the doors to its first hotel at Morrison Quay to the south of the city centre.
The site benefits from an extant planning permission for a 171-bedroom hotel (granted in January 2021) which sets the precedent to redevelop the site into a hotel.
Whitbread’s proposed hotel is similar to the permitted development in terms of building height, scale and character which broadly suits its operational requirements.
It is proposing a one, five and seven storey (with setbacks) building with an ancillary licensed restaurant and public bar and reception area occupying the ground floor. As part of the new design, the existing façade of the Former Postal Sorting Office (1 storey) will be retained, repaired, and conserved.
On opening around 40-team members are expected to work at the hotel, with recruitment focused in the city.
Whitbread has operated a Premier Inn hotel in Swords, near Dublin Airport, since 2007 and opened its first hotel in Dublin City Centre in November 2021. It currently operates six hotels across Ireland (representing more than 1,000 trading guest bedrooms) and believes there is the potential in Ireland for 5,000 Premier Inn rooms.
The 187-bedroom Cork City Centre Premier Inn opened on 29 January 2024 at a location overlooking the south channel of the River Lee. More than 40 team members were employed to welcome guests to the company’s first location in Cork City Centre.
In line with Whitbread’s commitment to managing its direct emissions to zero by 2040 (scopes 1 and 2) Whitbread’s second hotel in Cork will be powered solely by electricity generated by renewable sources. The hotel has been designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ energy rating.
Matt Gent, development manager for Whitbread in Ireland, said: “We opened a new Premier Inn at Morrisons Quay in Cork in January [2024] and quickly secured our second development opportunity to the east of the city centre a month after. The site we acquired, which is currently occupied by the Leisureplex entertainment complex, is a fantastic location for a hotel given its central location, public transport connections and many businesses and amenities located in the vicinity.
“Over the last ten months we have been working hard as a team to rework and improve the existing planning permission to suit the Premier Inn brand. Our proposal will create a high-quality new hotel building with an ancillary licensed restaurant and public bar, that will provide an attractive addition to
MacCurtain Street and the Victorian Quarter of the City Centre.”
Gent added: “I’m proud of the proposed development we have submitted for planning, and I am certain our second hotel in Cork will trade well and will make a positive long-term contribution to the city.”
