AN ‘UNATTRACTIVE’ building in the heart of Windsor will be transformed into a 116-bed hotel as councillors give the nod to fresh plans.

Members of the Royal Borough Development Management panel met up at the Holiday Inn in Maidenhead on Wednesday, June 16, and unanimously approved plans for developers Canada Life to build a new hotel.

Their plans involve partly demolishing behind Boots in Peascod Street and redeveloping the site into a four-storey building with 116 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, and back of house facilities.

The new hotel, which will be up to four-storeys in height, will front onto Mellor Walk and will be a ‘car free’ development as the developers believe tourists will be visiting Windsor via public transport, defeating the need for parking.

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Boots will be retained at the site, which use to be a Woolworths, albeit at a reduced size.

No hotel operator has been announced.

Canada Life originally submitted plans for a 125-bed hotel, but following consultation, they decided to reduce it to 116 to ‘reconfigure’ the existing retail space.

Speaking at the meeting, the agent Matthew Williams urged councillors to approve the plans as the hotel will make good use of the ‘scarce’ developed site and enhance the character of the conservation area.

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He also said it will boost the town’s economy by creating new jobs and local businesses could see some economic benefits from future tourists.

Windsor councillor Amy Tisi (Lib Dem: Clewer East) accepted the hotel plan will improve the ‘bleak area’ but disagreed the architecture designs will ‘enhance’ the character of Windsor’s conservation area.

She said: “I think it is an improvement, but it does remain to be seen whether we do need the hotel beds.

“We don’t know quite how things are going to be bouncing back after Covid, but hopefully lots of visitors will be coming back to Windsor and making good use to it.”