Eccles set to become Chinese tourist destination

A CHINESE investor is expected to win approval this week to turn part of a 1970s office block in Salford into a hotel.

Dr Mingliang Chen bought Sentinel House in Peel Street, Eccles, a year ago for £2.8m.

He wants to convert the 15-storey, 116,000 sq ft building into a 126-bed hotel.

Dr Chen also operates a Milton Keynes-based travel agency called Omega Travel and he wants to use the building for Chinese tourists on sightseeing tours of the UK.

According to a planning statement the company operates 55 coaches which it uses to take Chinese tourists around attractions in London and Scotland.

The document said the hotel is “seen as an ideal primary base for tourists to travel either North or South, after flying in to Manchester Airport. They would use the proposed hotel as their arrival and departure point for their expeditions”.

It adds: “Eccles is seen as a half-way point between London and Scotland. Salford and Manchester attractions would also benefit greatly.”

The application is up for consideration at Salford City Council’s planning committee tomorrow, where planning officers have recommended it is approved.

Sentinel House was sold at auction by Zincedge Properties, owned by Narinder Singh Chadha.

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