Whitbread and Swindon Borough Council have agreed the sale of the Aspen House site opposite the Savoy pub in Regent Street.

The company will be building a £17m 197-room Premier Inn that will be complete with a Bar+Block steak restaurant on the ground floor.

Here’s what you said on Facebook:

Daniel Adams: “Absolutely brilliant news. Worth bearing in mind that this is an indication of the success of the town as a business destination and it’s mainly the businesspeople these hotels are serving. It will hopefully help alleviate the difficulties that Regent Circus has been facing.”

Andrew Griffiths: “There’s a lot of businesspeople that stay over.

“Personally, I would come to Swindon to sample the glistening array of Greggs.”

Eddie Evans: “I think it’s great news. Anything that changes the current dynamic of the town centre is good news to me.

“It can only help revive that end of town.”

Marcus Jerome: “Yes it may sound good in theory, but when it opens it will kill off more businesses like the Savoy.

“In other words, it may create 80 to 85 jobs initially but if they kill off the savoy and shut other sites it won’t be new jobs.”

Rachel Bartlett: “What’s the point in a new hotel in the town centre when a lot of shops are closing, even the outlet is a disappointment. Swindon doesn’t have enough to attract anymore.”

Chris Pinder: “May as well build something in Swindon that may give us some jobs with the way things are going.”

Melanie Manton: “Why more hotels? Nice area right opposite the Savoy.”

Christine Ricks: “How about having something useful like refurbished shops.”

Louise Ricobi: “That’s going to make all the different to half the shops already closed in the town, not.”

Louise Kyson: “Surely we don’t need or have the custom for another hotel?”

Sarah Skinner: “Steakhouse would be good, let’s hope it lasts.”

Ric Pasqualitto: “It will never happen, like every other plan.”

Tom Webb: “Be useful for all the tourists that come here, why build homeless shelters when you can build hotels that nobody will use.”

Stuart Hall: “That’s what our town needs, another hotel.”

Chris Paris-Haines: “A decent no rip-off hotel. Love the Premier Inn and a steakhouse two minutes from my house, sounds like a dream.

“Get rid of the Savoy, need those people moved as visitors to Swindon may get the wrong impression.”

Sandra Edmondson: “If it closes due to lack of use, the council can easily change it into flats.”

Gary Fulford: “So we get all this and still no snow dome, the people of Swindon don’t want a hotel, we want things to do and places to take our kids, the council has no understanding.”

Dave Chaplin: “The report mentions Swindon Borough Council’s regeneration plans surely they mean pipe dreams. I’ve lost count of the number of developments that never materialised."