LEADING councillors behind plans for a taxpayer-funded hotel in Taunton are playing with the jobs of hundreds of people, it was claimed today (Monday).

Hotelier Kit Chapman slammed proposals for a 120-bed hotel on the former livestock market at Firepool, which would be paid for by Taunton Deane Borough Council from borrowing and rented out to a leading hotel chain.

He accuses council leader Cllr John Williams of being "hell bent" on the project despite widespread opposition and the absence of a demand.

Mr Chapman, of The Castle, told The Taunton Strategic Advisory Board that a 25 per cent increase in the current 500 hotel beds within five miles of Taunton is unsustainable.

He said: "The council is putting the cart before the horse.

"The first imperative is to create that demand on the Firepool site by driving new employment initiatives like the UK Hydrographic Office’s proposed geospatial innovation centre and a large, flexible, multi-purpose convention-cum-entertainment venue."

Mr Chapman added: "This also begs the question as to why the leadership is hell bent on proceeding with a 120-bed hotel for which there is no proven demand.

"It is a leadership that is acting completely regardless of the risks to the livelihoods and jobs of all the other hotels, guest houses and B&Bs in this town.

"At stake are many hundreds of jobs in Taunton. My own hotel, The Castle, itself employs 91 people."

He outlined how a consultation sent to 312 businesses by the council garnered just 35 responses, with 20 of them against the project.

Criticism Mr Chapman highlighted included lack of a masterplan for Firepool; the need to concentrate on attracting new business before a hotel, including a leisure and entertainment venue; the risk to current hotel operators; and the private sector rather than the council should invest in the initiative

A petition objecting to the Firepool hotel had 1,632 signatures, while Mr Chapman said the business case has been "denied proper, rigorous scrutiny by members of the council" and excluded any consultation with local hotel operators.

He added: "To John Williams I say this, 'You and your cabinet are playing with the livelihoods and jobs of hundreds of people. That you should be so ready to put these jobs at risk is, frankly, irresponsible. Indeed, many of us see this as an abuse of your powers. You are insistent on protecting the sustainability of the Brewhouse Theatre, a major future landmark coming to Taunton. But you refuse to be mindful of the sustainability of an historic landmark like Taunton’s Castle Hotel. Your high-handed attitude towards the hotel on Firepool, against all the evidence we have seen, is both cynical and anti-democratic'."

Mr Chapman added that Firepool needs "one comprehensive plan, not piecemeal development".

Following a discussion by the board, it was agreed to call on the council to postpone the hotel proposals at its meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) "until such time that the council has developed a fully comprehensive, integrated scheme to transform Firepool into a major leisure destination along the lines already being discussed".