A LEADING leisure developer and hotel operator has explained why it is investing as much as £60 million on developments in Bournemouth which include two new four-star hotels on the Eastcliff.

A spokesman for Planning Solutions, the Ringwood-based hotel and redevelopments planning specialist which is acting on behalf of CHG Holdings, said: "As a location, Bournemouth ticks all the boxes. It's a premier southern resort with good transport links. It has good summer and weekend markets as well as a good conference trade.

"With such opportunities it helps make new development possible. These are exciting times for the town.

"CHG looked at the demographics of where Bournemouth was and it's a leading coastal town. There are big companies here which are likely to use its facilities, as well as tourists," he said.

The spokesman added that CHG is extremely confident in Bournemouth. "The hotel industry here is undergoing an evolution. Customers expect much more these days. A two-star hotel 30 years ago couldn't compete with a modern equivalent.

"What was good then has naturally dated. For instance, back then ground floors of hotels were used just as receptions. Today, customers expect a more open plan feel to include an eating area. Customers want 24-hour service."

The spokesman for Planning Solutions, which counts Barratt Homes and Tesco as clients, said: "It's all about customer service and the offering.

"CHG will be able to provide Bournemouth with a mix of two, three and four-star hotels that will attract tourists through to conference delegates. This is the right mix for the town."

CHG Holdings, owner of Carlton Hotel Group, has agreed to purchase three hotels on the East Cliff, subject to planning, which will make way for the prestigious four-star hotels planned to open in 2010.

The Carlton Hotel Group originally owned two hotels, one at Sandown on the Isle of Wight and the other at Eastbourne.

Eight years ago the group became a leisure developer when it acquired its first site at Christchurch Road.

On that site the company built the first Travelodge in Bournemouth. It still operates this development, trading under the Travelodge brand.

Including Bournemouth, CHG operates three Travelodge hotels - the other two are in Ryde and Eastbourne.

CHG has already secured planning permission to build a 168-bed Premier Travel Inn hotel on the site of The Cadogan and part of the East Anglia hotels. CHG also intends to invest £8m in creating a new 110-bedroom hotel on the site of The Tralee.

The spokesman for Planning Solutions concluded: "CHG Holdings now has 11 hotels in its portfolio stretching from the Isle of Wight down to Torquay. The company will create over 100 jobs in Bournemouth."