Insider Media Limited

Plans have been unveiled for a new 200-bed upmarket hotel at The University of Nottingham. The £20m eco-friendly hotel, which will be built on University Park, will be available for use by conference delegates, university visitors, local businesses and the general public.

The hotel will be constructed as part of the university’s strategy to become “an ever more environmentally-friendly institution”.

It will be sited next to the East Midlands Conference Centre (EMCC) and will feature some executive-style rooms, meeting and conferencing rooms, a gym as well as a restaurant and bar.

Subject to planning approval, building work is expected to commence in 2011, with completion due in summer 2012.

Funding for the hotel will be provided by The University of Nottingham, which says the building will provide “a much needed resource for visitors to the university”.

Architects and interior designers have already been appointed in order to develop the eco-friendly building, said the university.

Professor David Greenaway, vice chancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “The key aspect of the proposed design of the hotel is how well it nestles into the surrounding orchard hillside landscape, and its environmental sustainability credentials.

“Although the hotel will complement the hugely successful Conference Centre on University Park, it will also generate income in its own right, providing accommodation for the general public, local businesses and university visitors. I am sure that the hotel will prove to be a valuable asset for the future development of the University and further enhance the University’s important contribution to the city.”