COULD Worcester be getting a huge four or five star hotel in the city centre - and is there a need for it?

That’s the question being asked in a major new survey aimed at signalling to developers that the Faithful City is finally ready for a top class place to rest.

For years, Worcester has attracted millions of inward investment without the hotel accommodation catching up.

A top quality hotel was even originally supposed to be part of The Hive, the £60 million public and university library, but it was dropped due to a lack of funds.

Now Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, the county’s business lobbying organisation, believes the time is right to make the case for it again.

A new survey is being launched to gather evidence from business owners of the perceived need for it.

The research, which is being carried out on behalf of the LEP by Visit Worcestershire, will then be sent to developers of upmarket hotels to let them know of the demand for a top-of-the-range site.

Gary Woodman, executive director of the county’s LEP, said: “We have identified tourism as a key sector and if it is to make a greater contribution, it needs a quality place where people can stay.

“It is something we are looking at for Worcester and what we need to do is build an evidence base to shape that case.

"We'd encourage people to get involved."

A new 120-bed hotel is currently being built at Worcestershire County Cricket Club’s New Road ground by Premier Inns.

It is part of a joint £10.5 million development with the club and includes a restaurant, conference facilities, executive seats, offices and meeting rooms, and is due for completion in November.

There are seven hotels in Worcester offering about 400 rooms, but there have long been grumbles the city needs a top-end provider.

Back in 2010 an independent report by consultants Humberts Leisure described the provision as poor, and suggested it needs one high-quality site.

Councillor Adrian Gregson, Labour leader of the city council, said: “Worcester has a number of hotels and a new one is being built at the cricket ground.

“There is a view we need a four or five star one, but the question is should we concentrate on the boutique or niche market, and who are we trying to attract?

“Are we trying to get people to stay here, or even go as far as catering for people visiting Stratford or Birmingham who want to ‘water’ here overnight?

“Surveys have been done before and usually, they are inconclusive, but that’s not to say there isn’t a need for one.

“The question is, do we have the space and are developers interested.”

The survey is available online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/KTKTZT7