A hospitality firm has served up plans to replace a closed restaurant in Farnham with a hotel block.

Whitbread wants to add 74 rooms to its current Premier Inn at Bourne Mill Business Park by replacing the former Beefeater with a three-storey annexe.

The firm says that expansion is needed to meet a “growing demand for additional rooms in the area” with an L-shaped block with a slightly larger footprint being proposed.

The addition will more than double the current provision of 61 rooms, if approved, with the plans including a new ground floor restaurant inside the existing block.

The Beefeater off Guildford Road was one of dozens around the UK to close last year with staff being offered a mixture of redundancy or relocation.

It remains in use as a hotel restaurant but it’s only open to staying guests and not the general public.

“The proposed annexe is designed to replace the existing restaurant, largely occupying the same footprint,” remarks the firm’s design and access statement.

“The new annexe builds upon the existing hotel’s design and incorporates elements from the surrounding industrial estate, ensuring the development is sensitive to its context.

The firm adds: “The relocated restaurant within the existing hotel will comfortably accommodate 83 covers, ensuring minimal disruption to hotel operations while providing high-quality dining for guests.”

For more details or to comment on the development type WA/2025/01495 after following the ‘search planning applications’ link at www.waverley.gov.uk

Meanwhile, the name of another UK institution is also set to disappear from Farnham town centre as WBC has granted consent to a change in signage.

We’ll soon be saying goodbye to WHSmith as their branch on The Borough will soon become TGJones.

The move follows the £76million sale of the retailer’s High Street arm to Hobbycraft in March.