The council has pressed pause on Premier Inn’s plans to get a licence at a hotel that does not yet exist.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) deferred deciding on the application from Whitbread Group Plc to build the hotel on 20 Hosier Street to avoid mismatch between planning and licensing permission.

The group's application at the former Eva’s Nightclub seeks to provide 24-hour access to alcohol for guests and to serve the public from 10am-11pm.

The hotel is also looking to serve food or hot drinks from 11pm-12am and show films from 10am till midnight.

Councillor Paul Woodward, chair of the licensing applications sub-committee, said the delay would allow for discussion between the group and the licensing and planning teams.

He said: “We want to defer this. The building doesn’t exist yet. Planning permission hasn’t been granted.

“We are a little concerned that it is putting the cart before the horse and we do not have a real building to look at.

"Our policy is very much in favour of integration with other departments.

“We have had situations recently where policies have not matched and we are keen to avoid that if we can.”

RBC's licensing team objected to the application because they believe the applicant has not sufficiently taken the Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) policy and licensing objectives into account.

The CIA policy aims to mitigate the potential impact of a significant number of licensed premises concentrated in one area.

Applicants must ‘rebut the presumption’ that granting them a licence would negatively impact on the area.

Thames Valley Police’s Declan Smyth also objected, stating that the application in its current form would undermine the four licensing objectives, including avoiding public nuisance and crime and disorder.

Tim Shield, representing Whitbread, said: “On a practical level, there is no objection from planning. Planning is well underway and the date for comments has passed.

“Planning and licensing are entirely separate. I think we can progress the application.”

Consultation on the group’s planning application ended on Wednesday, February 14, with the application set to be discussed at a future planning committee meeting.

Licensing officer Richard French said: “It has always been the view of this authority that planning should come first.

“The licensing policy clearly states that we expect applicants to have planning permission first.”