Wolverhampton's Novotel hotel plans huge expansion creating more rooms and bringing new jobs

Plans have been submitted to the city council for a four-storey extension with 59 bedrooms to be built over the existing courtyard at the 132-bedroom landmark hotel.

The restaurant will also be made bigger and 10 new members of staff will be hired – bumping the total number of employees at the Union Street building up to 75.

Business experts have called the plans an ‘excellent’ move for Wolverhampton, as a current lack of accommodation stops firms visiting.

Jan Denning, director of Destination Wolverhampton and The Black Country, said she was ‘delighted'.

Her company takes inquiries from businesses looking to host conferences and events in the region.

But she said the lack of bed space in the city was a problem.

“We receive so many conference and event inquiries – since January we’ve recorded about £1 million worth of inquiries,” she said.

“A company will request, for example, 150 bedrooms, dinner and a conference space. Usually we can do the dinner and conference space but then just don’t have the bed space. The impact that has is we lose the lot.

“It’s great to see Wolverhampton as a city developing and regenerating.”

Chief executive at Black Country Chamber of Commerce Corin Crane said: “All good, vibrant companies need as many good quality hotel rooms as possible.

“This is a great boost for Wolverhampton. And as the train station is being redeveloped, a good quality hotel being ready to go by the station is really good news.”

The plans have been submitted by Fairview Hotels Limited, part of AccorHotels, which owns the Novotel chain.

Fairview director Neil Forbes, said: “We feel Wolverhampton is a great place to invest more money in.”

Wolverhampton council will make a decision on the expansion after the summer.