The new Hub by Premier Inn hotel being built at Putney’s busiest junction will be bigger than originally approved: three extra rooms, taller plant equipment on the roof, and an electrical substation that will reduce the promised public courtyard.
The Putney Society has objected, warning the developer’s new delivery door on Putney Bridge Road will block the bus and cycle lane at a junction already crippled by the botched redesign. The Planning Committee decides on the application (2025/3946) tonight.
The changes modify the 2021 planning permission granted to developer Mosser Limited for the 10-storey hotel. The original approval was for 197 rooms. This application increases that to 200, though 40 of those rooms will have no windows – a slight improvement from the 42 windowless rooms previously approved. Construction won’t finish until 2028: two more years of disruption at the junction.
The most significant visible change is the plant screen on the roof, which will be 70 centimetres taller than originally approved. The developer also wants to build a 4.5 metre by 4.5 metre electrical substation in the corner of the public courtyard, reducing the open space residents were promised when the scheme was approved.
The energy strategy has changed too. The developer has ditched the solar panels shown in the 2021 approval and replaced them with air source heat pumps.
The delivery door problem
The Putney Society has objected to one change that wasn’t in the original plans: a new delivery door on Putney Bridge Road. The problem is that in 2023, after the hotel was approved, the council installed a loading ban on that exact street. Double yellow lines with loading restrictions run for 55 metres along Putney Bridge Road, prohibiting loading and unloading between 7am and 7pm.
A 200-room hotel requires multiple deliveries every day. The Putney Society points out that delivery vehicles will block the existing bus lane and cycle lane, exacerbating congestion at what is already Putney’s worst junction.
The developer’s transport consultants, WSP, have responded by revealing they’ve submitted a separate Traffic Management Order application to change the 2023 loading ban. The planning application assumes this separate TMO will be approved. If it’s not, the hotel has no viable delivery strategy.
The planning officer recommends approval, saying deliveries will be managed through a Delivery and Servicing Plan required by condition. But that doesn’t answer how deliveries will physically occur if the TMO application to reverse the loading ban fails.
Taxi drop-offs present another challenge. WSP suggests multiple options: Putney High Street outside Boots, the loading bay on Lacy Road, Brewhouse Lane, or the rear access point. The hotel has no dedicated taxi drop-off area.
Infrastructure uncertainty
Thames Water has told the council it cannot determine whether there is sufficient water and sewerage capacity to support the hotel. The water company says foul water capacity, surface water capacity, and potable water supply are all insufficient. The council has attached a condition preventing the hotel opening until Thames Water confirms capacity exists or agrees an infrastructure upgrade plan. That means the hotel could be built but sit empty until the water infrastructure catches up.
Transport for London has raised concerns about cycle parking provision, saying the proposals don’t meet London Plan standards. The council will make compliance with TfL’s requirements a condition of approval.
The site has been a visible blight on Putney High Street for years. After squatters were evicted last year, demolition finally began in October 2025. The buildings that once housed Ramna restaurant, Preto Brazilian steakhouse, and Gadget Xchange are currently being demolished, with construction originally scheduled to begin next month; although in recent days the site has fallen quiet.
The Putney hotel development is the latest chapter in a saga that began with a 2017 application, received approval in 2021, then sat dormant for years while the corner deteriorated. Residents waiting for the site’s transformation face at least two more years of construction disruption at Putney’s busiest junction.
The Planning Committee meets at 7.30pm on Wednesday, February 19 at Wandsworth Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public, though residents cannot speak at planning committees. Ward councillors can attend and speak briefly on applications in their area.
