A FORMER Beefeater restaurant could be demolished to make way for an extension of a Premier Inn.

The Three Pears pub closed to members of the public earlier this year and started serving only guests of the hotel.

Now Wainwright, which owns Premier Inn, wants to demolish the restaurant to make way for a two-storey extension.

EXTENSION: Premier Inn wants to extend the hotel to create another 22 bedroomsEXTENSION: Premier Inn wants to extend the hotel to create another 22 bedrooms (Image: Phil Wilkinson-Jones/LDRS)

The plan is to add a further 22 bedrooms to the existing 104-bedroom hotel, which is near junction 6 of the M5.

The existing restaurant would be replaced by a new breakfast room and the number of car parking spaces would increase from 120 to 122.

Whitbread said in a planning statement: “Whilst the proposals would increase the number of guest bedrooms, any additional trips to the site would be offset by the fact that the separate branded restaurant would be removed.

“This would also compensate for the additional demands for car parking from external visitors that the branded restaurant currently generates above those from hotel guests.”

READ MORE: 3 Pears Beefeater in Worcester closes its doors to public

READ MORE: Councillors say goodbye as pub closes its doors to the public

The Three Pears Beefeater was among 126 “lower performing” restaurants closed by Whitbread in the summer following a reduction in footfall in certain locations.

In July, city councillors John Rudge and Sarah Murray had expressed hopes the pub could one day reopen to the public.

“Sarah and I are disappointed that the restaurant is shutting for the general public, and local residents in particular but do hope that the Premier Inn chain might consider reopening for local residents at some point in the near future,” said Cllr Rudge.

Whitbread’s latest plans show it sees the future of the site differently.

In a transport plan the company says: “The trip generation associated with the existing restaurant use would be removed from the highway network.

“It is worth noting the additional Premier Inn hotel bedrooms would not necessarily attract new visitors, but rather provide overnight accommodation for people making a predetermined trip to the local area, and therefore, any additional trips to the hotel would not necessarily be ‘new’ to the local highway network.”