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Premier Inn plans for Faversham hotel signs cause upset with concerned residents

Residents fear Premier Inn’s plans to install five illuminated signs off a main road into Faversham will destroy its image as a historic market town.

The budget chain, which has permission to build a new 84-bed hotel off the A251 Ashford Road, has applied for permission to erect the bright purple branding across the site.

A new CGI of the yet-to-be built Premier Inn at Faversham
A new CGI of the yet-to-be built Premier Inn at Faversham

But objectors fear the new signs will dazzle drivers on the main route into the town and cause intrusive light pollution to nearby residents.

They also suggest the perception of Faversham being a historic town will be tarnished by the illuminations.

Lynda Brissenden said: “This road is the approach to Faversham and planners really need to think about the impression that visitors should have of Faversham when coming into the town from the motorway.

“Instead of an attractive approach, they will be faced with parked cars, commercial illuminated signage for a budget hotel chain.

“If Faversham is to encourage its image as an historic medieval market town, then more thought must surely be given to first impressions. We urge that these signs be reconsidered and are placed more discreetly.”

The Premier Inn will sit behind the new roundabout at the A251
The Premier Inn will sit behind the new roundabout at the A251

The views are echoed by Ashford Road resident John Mulford, who says the number of signs is unjustifiably “excessive”.

However, Kent Highways says it would not be opposed to their installation as long as they are “not of the flashing type”.

The blueprints for the proposals, in which new CGIs of the budget hotel have also been revealed, show there will be 85 parking spaces at the Premier Inn. If the fresh plans - submitted to Swale Borough Council - are approved, five illuminated signs will be installed around the hotel, along with one totem stand.

A Premier Inn spokesman says the installations will be “respectful”.

He said: “The signage will provide respectful wayfinding to the new hotel in line with our latest brand standards.”

Plans for one of the illuminated panels
Plans for one of the illuminated panels

The application comes after permission for a three-storey Premier Inn, near to the new roundabout at the A251, was secured last year.

The hotel will sit next to a new Aldi supermarket, a terrace of shops and 66-bed care home. It is all part of the controversial and under-construction 310-home scheme at Perry Court, which Barratt Homes has recently submitted fresh plans to expand by almost 20%.

Read more: All the latest news from Faversham

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