Management at a Coventry hotel are worried that the business will suffer as a direct result of the city’s ambitious Phoenix Initiative.

The Britannia Hotel will lose nearly 150 car parking spaces along with a sizeable conference room after the council served Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) on the part of the premises.

The hotel’s manager Paul Davis believes that customers could be put off staying at the Fairfax Street hotel.

He said:

"We have a floor of car parking in the multi-storey behind us dedicated to our hotel customers from which guests can walk through to the hotel under cover.

"That has been taken away and although we have been offered alternative car parking in the Pay and Display opposite this could cause several problems.

"One is that there is no guarantee that people will find spaces over there and it is certainly not ideal to have people carrying their bags across a road to get to the hotel."

The Compulsory Purchase Order also covers a conference room although Coventry City Council has made alternative arrangements to cater for this.

The hotel will now raise its concerns at the Public Inquiry which starts today which has been called to discuss the CPOs.

Davis is in no doubt that if the Initiative does continue as planned the hotel will notice the difference in business, which could result in a loss of staff.

He said:

"Obviously we are worried that the Initiative will have an adverse effect on the business because people do specifically ask about car parking when they book their rooms.

"If that is the case then obviously the numbers of casual staff will have to be looked at."

The hotel boss did admit that once finished the Phoenix Initiative would benefit the whole of the area.