Premier Inn approved for town centre M&S site

A computer-generated imaged shows how the new hotel buildings would look

Plans to demolish a former town centre Marks and Spencer store and replace it with a hotel have been approved.

The M&S store in Dorchester's South Street closed in February 2020 and its building fell into disrepair.

Whitbread, which purchased the site in 2023, has been granted permission to build a 102-bedroom Premier Inn, which would be within the town's conservation area.

The company, which already has a Premier Inn in nearby Brewery Square, said the new hotel would bring £3m to the local economy.

Both the Victorian and 1930s buildings would be demolished

The site is currently made up of two buildings - one was built in the 1930s to replace the previous Marks and Spencer store.

The shop was later extended into the adjoining Victorian building in the 1960s.

During construction in 1936, workmen found what became known as the Dorchester Hoard - a cache of 22,000 Roman coins buried in the foundations of a Roman house.

The new hotel would have entrances both on South Street and Trinity Street.

Dorset Council's planning officer's report acknowledged that "demand for a continued retail unit utilising the same floor area is very limited in the current market and in this location".