Mansfield hotel owners feel 'squeezed out of the market' as they submit plans to downsize

The hotel, on Woodhouse Road, first opened in 2005 after the owners of one of two guest houses located next door to each other bought the neighbouring property and knocked them into one.

But after plans were given the green light for the Travelodge, on Gilcroft Street, and another hotel on the site of Mansfield’s former bus station, the owners said they felt they were being squeezed out of the market.

Manager Darren Fletcher, who owns the hotel with his parents Phil and Janette, said they had taken the decision to split the building in two again – running an eight-bed guesthouse in one property and a house of multiple occupation in the other.

He said that the latter will be high-end and cater for medical and business professionals who were working in Mansfield on a semi-permanent basis.

A third hotel, A Hampton by Hilton, at the town’s One Call stadium is also still on the cards – although little has been said about it since 2018.

Darren said: “We do feel that the council has squeezed us out of the local market bit by bit.

“We spent half a million pounds turning it into a nice, three-star hotel, and we feel that it’s always been overlooked and under-valued by the council - it’s never really got the recognition it deserved.

“We plan for it to be an upper-end house of multiple occupancy - the people we are working with have a lot of nurses on their books. I’m still going to run a B&B from one of the properties.”

He added that the impact of Covid on the hotel sector and his parents reaching retirement age were also factors in the application.

The application is now being considered by council planning chiefs and a decision is expected in May.

A spokesperson for Mansfield District Council said the authority is unable to comment on planning applications before they are determined.

Editor’s message: In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together.