THESE are the first images of how a new £4.5million hotel in Monmouth will look.

The 60-bed Premier Inn is due to be built on land behind the petrol station, off Portal Road, after Monmouthshire council approved the scheme by Whitbread PLC in June.

Monmouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce has lobbied for a hotel to be built on the site for nine years.

On Monmouthshire council’s own figures the scheme will result in a £1million boost annually for the economy of Monmouth. It will boost the economy each year by £300,000 and an estimated £900,000 spent in the wider Welsh economy.

The development will create 20 full-time jobs on site as well as an estimated 34 jobs created in the wider economy through suppliers and services.

Whitbread PLC said the hotel will attract an additional 14,500 overnight stays within Monmouth each year.

A spokesman for the firm could not confirm a date for construction to start but Peter Lawson, the director of Cardiff-based planning consultants Turley, which is acting on behalf of Whitbread PLC, previously told the Argus they hope to be on site during the summer.