A council could be left high and dry with fears a hotel developer will pull out of a £6million investment on the Yorkshire coast.
Newcastle-based Inn Collection Group had previously planned to invest in a new 42-bedroom hotel and restaurant on the seafront at Coatham, Redcar, where tourism is a significant contributor. However, members of the scrutiny committee at Redcar and Cleveland Council were recently told the developer was “exploring alternative options”, according to the Northern Echo. The combined authority has already spent £294,000 on remediating the land for the construction, so the race may be on to find another developer.
Councillor Chris Jones, who chairs the growth scrutiny committee at the council, has said it would be a « real blow » if no plans were on the table for the site.
Councillors were reportedly told in the meeting that the site had « attracted interest from multiple investors, and potential future options may emerge ». A council spokesperson added discussions were « ongoing about the future ».
Overnight stays were highlighted as a potential lever to boost the region’s tourism economy in 2022, when consultation responses from people working in the sector highlighted a “dependence on day visits”. Tourism contributed an estimated £216million to Redcar and Cleveland in 2022.
Lynn Pallister, the cabinet member for growth and enterprise, had confirmed the development’s positive progress in a council update in March 2024.
She stated that once remediation was finished, the plan was for the Inn Collection Group to begin developing the hotel.
She said: “Coatham seafront has received a complete makeover this past year, with leisure facilities on the seafront boosting tourism in the area, and we’ll soon be welcoming a big hotel chain to complement this. »
However, doubts appeared to be simmering at the surface during the start of the project, when the council formalised a heads of terms agreement with the hotel chain in 2020.
Planning permission for the development was later granted, but former council leader Sue Jeffrey had questioned whether there was a « plan B », should the developer pull out.
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