Peterborough councillors to consider risks of three options for future of city's Hilton Garden Inn

Council officers have begun a detailed analysis of the risks around three options for a solution to Peterborough’s unfinished £30 million Hilton Garden Inn.

The move comes after it was revealed that a bid from an undisclosed party had been received to take on the nine storey hotel at Fletton Quays, after the original developer was taken into administration by the council.

The council provided a £14.7 million loan to the developer to build the hotel but took the company into administration last year after many months in which no construction work had taken place.

After months of seeking a developer to take on the project, the council had begun to consider making a credit bid to the administrators Teneo about £17 million for the hotel - up to the value of its original loan plus interest.

It has now put that bid on pause and the new ‘third party’ offer was considered by members of the Peterborough City Council’s ruling cabinet on March 22 in a confidential session.

Now those councillors have paused any decision and asked officers to set out three possible options for the hotel and detail all the financial and non-financial implications of each one.

Officers have also been tasked to set out how each of the three options could be achieved and any risks involved.

The aim is to ensure that councillors can reach an informed decision on next steps for the hotel.

It is understood the options are: accept the third party bid, allow the council to complete the development, or look to sell the building.

Council deputy leader Councillor John Howard told the Cabinet meeting: “The Hilton hotel was never intended to generate an income for the council.

"It is one of the final pieces in the development of Fletton Quays and we need to do now, as we come to a difficult crossroads, is to consider further what are the next steps for the hotel?

And he warned any decision would have an impact on the council and the city for the next five to 15 years and needed to be taken with great care.

He said: “There is no firm timescale. We have decided to delay accepting the third party bid or making a bid ourselves until we have considered the details.”