THE opening of a new £9.5million pub restaurant and hotel development, which will create 72 new jobs, will provide a welcome "boost" for Stourbridge - town leaders have said.

Whitbread PLC and Belbroughton based Barberry Developments have spent the last eight months transforming the four-acre former Cox Hire in Birmingham Street into a new Premier Inn hotel and Brewers Fayre restaurant - both of which are just days away from opening to the public.

The Brewers Fayre will launch on Monday December 15 and the 80-bedroom Premier Inn will welcome its first guests on Monday December 22 from 2pm.

Stourbridge councillors and traders have hailed the development good news for the town which had seen little regeneration in recent years until Tesco opened a new superstore in 2013.

Ward councillor Pete Lowe, leader of Dudley Council, said: "It's really positive news. It will bring more people into the town during the week and hopefully stimulate business within Stourbridge High Street.

"It's an example of what we're attempting to do to promote regeneration for Stourbridge."

David Harcourt, president of Stourbridge Chamber of Trade, added: "It will be another boost to the town; it's nice to see something new on land that had been left to over grow. I hope they start off well and continue through with that. "

Julia Marshall, new openings manager for Premier Inn, said: "We hope the opening of the new Premier Inn in Stourbridge will have an extremely positive affect on the local economy.

"As well as bringing in new visitors to the town, we have also created a number of new jobs, between the hotel and adjoining Brewers Fayre restaurant, for local residents of Stourbridge and the surrounding area.

"All of the team are very much looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming our guests to the new hotel."

Guy Mumford, general manager of the Brewers Fayre restaurant, added: "It's not only great that we're creating new jobs for the community, we also look forward to welcoming families from the area through our restaurant doors to spend quality time together and enjoy our delicious menu."

An official opening event for the development will be held on January 22.