A NEW hotel will “undoubtedly” improve an “extremely challenging area” behind the Broad Street Mall, which should open in the middle of next year.

A Premier Inn will be built on Hosier Street, where the nightclub Eva’s used to be.

Thames Valley Police raised concerns about safety and drunk guests, as PC Simon Wheeler said the location is an “extremely challenging area”.

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Premier Inn received a premises licence for the hotel on March 5, after councillors at Reading Borough Council heard views from both police and a lawyer for the hotel chain.

Tim Shield, representing Premier Inn, told councillors that the hotel chain is a “national and reputable brand” with 800 hotels around the country, “without considerable issues around disorder”.

The hotel is due to open in summer 2021. It will have 101 bedrooms, a restaurant and a bar.

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Mr Shield said: “Undoubtedly this hotel will advance the area. It will provide careers, between 65 to 70. And they are careers, not jobs.

“We operate other premises in Reading and we don’t have issues generally, or around disorder with customers coming back late in the evening, trying to get alcohol.”

PC Wheeler raised concerns specifically around the lack of door security staff after midnight, despite the bar being open to guests throughout the night. He also questioned why the hotel asks for ID only from people who look under 21 years old, not 25.

While the reception will only have one or two staff after midnight, everybody trying to enter the building will have to have a key card, and the bar will only be open to hotel guests after midnight.

PC Wheeler said: “There are a number of hotels in the town centre which do employ security, and we do have a number of issues with intoxicated people on the weekend. The problems we see are very difficult to deal with by hotel staff.”

The hotel chain trains their staff nationally in a ‘Challenge 21’ policy, however PC Wheeler said this had been a “dire failure” in another Premier Inn in Reading in 2017, which has since changed to a ‘Challenge 25’ policy.

Mr Shield said: “Generally Challenge 21 does work, apart from those individual, highly regrettable incidents.” He added that it would be “confusing” to train some staff on a separate ‘Challenge 25’ policy.

Councillors on the licensing sub-committee voted to grant the premises application, without the need for door supervisors after midnight.