Premier Inn Proposal for Station Road Car Park

Premier Inn are proposing to construct a five-storey, 115 bed hotel, with an in-house restaurant at Henley train station on the small car park area opposite the entrance.

The site will result in the permanent loss a number of parking spaces at the station.  There will also be a temporary loss of an additional spaces for use as a construction compound for an anticipated 14 months.  Under the Network Rail/GWR collaboration 55 new parking spaces will be provided at Twyford station where station parking is undersupplied and further land will be made available at Goring and Streatley station and Wargrave station.

A survey was carried out in June 2019 on the usage of the Henley train station car park on behalf of Network Rail to support the proposed development of a hotel on the site. The survey was carried out over 3 days (Wednesday 5, Thursday 6 and Saturday 8 June).  The car parks currently provide a total of 321 spaces. The survey showed the maximum existing demands at any one time was 260 cars (81%) with the peak during the middle of the day with a significant drop-off from the early evening and overnight.  Approximately 65% are rail users with the remaining associated with those visiting the town centre/local businesses or contractor parking.  The coach parking area was also recorded during the survey and showed a maximum of just 1 coach at any point during the survey.

Councillor Michelle Thomas, Chair of Henley Town Council (HTC) Planning Committee said, “HTC response will be discussed at the Planning meeting on 12th January. The deadline has been extended for this reason.

I would urge Henley residents to respond to this consultation, in the full knowledge that Premier Inn operate from a smaller hotel in a listed building in Marlow. Premier Inn also have hotels in Reading and Maidenhead.

Any loss of car parking space in Henley is not acceptable, any loss of privacy to residents is also unacceptable.”

Paul Smith, Acquisition Manager at Premier Inn, said, “The site adjacent to Henley-on-Thames station is an excellent location for a new Premier Inn hotel.  There is a shortage of hotel accommodation in the town and we see long-term demand for our bedrooms in Henley beyond the pandemic, so we’re confident it would be a success.

“Premier Inn hotels in towns like Henley are very popular with our customers.  They attract leisure and business guests throughout the year and as Premier Inn offers a light touch style of hotel accommodation, we find that many of our guests eat and drink out when they stay with us, supporting established businesses and contributing to the local economy.  The hotel will also create approximately 35 permanent new jobs on opening with recruitment focused in the local area.

“We have been working constructively with South Oxfordshire District Council over the past year to bring forward a well-designed scheme which fits its location.  The car park has been a particular focus of the design and we are proposing to reconfigure the car parking areas at the station to create a more user-friendly layout, including for disabled users and cyclists, as part of our plans.

“We’re confident the proposed hotel would be a positive addition to Henley-on-Thames and would bring many benefits.  The plans can be viewed online at www.premierinnhenley.co.uk and we would welcome comments from the local community by 12 January 2021.”