Talks to bring top class hotel to Wolverhampton

The authority has struggled for years to attract a major hotel into the city centre, with bosses recently admitting defeat in a bid to have one included as part of the delayed Westside scheme.

But it has now emerged that talks have taken place between the council and top chains the Marriott and the Hilton.

Richard Lawrence, the authority’s director of regeneration, revealed the discussions during a debate on the council’s new strategy to attract visitors to the beleaguered city.

He said: “Regarding hotels, we have spoken to the Marriott and the Hilton amongst others and will continue to.”

The council has met with a series of snags in its bid to bring a new hotel to the city. It included a 100-bed hotel in its initial plans for Westside, but scrapped the idea after failing to attract a chain.

Bosses had hoped Wolves would come to the rescue with a top class hotel on the site of the club car park off Whitmore Hill, but that scheme now also appears to be on the backburner.

Mr Lawrence is one of the architects of Westside, which is awaiting the green light from a cinema chain before it can be signed off.

He launched the city’s new marketing strategy, which highlights 10 reasons why people should come to Wolverhampton.

He insisted that despite facing a number of challenges, such as “cutbacks and underfunding”, the city was on the up.

“We were ranked the 17th most deprived local authority in England in 2015 and we’re now 24th, so things are improving,” he said.

“We have to start somewhere and unfortunately all these things do take time, but we are continually working to raise our profile – which is why this strategy has been put in place.”