Locate Developments, which purchased the site and is to build the 100-bed hotel, promised an individual design unlike many of the other 750 hotels in the Premier Inn chain.
During consultations with nearby residents the developers gave an assurance that they would respect the local conservation area, and that the new hotel would be in keeping with the terraced houses across the road in Chipping Close.
The plans are now being finalised following consultations with Barnet Council’s conservation officer, the Barnet Society, Barnet Residents Association and the Friends of Barnet Market.
A detailed planning application should be submitted within the next few weeks. Premier Inn say the hotel and restaurant could create 50 to 60 jobs and will help generate extra trade in the town centre, especially in the evenings and at weekends.
If planning approval is granted, construction would start early next year and the hotel, together with the restaurant, should be open for business by late 2019.
High Barnet was once famous for its coaching inns and hotels. The Salisbury Hotel, which once dominated the central section of the High Street, was demolished in the 1980s to make way for an Iceland store.
The nearest hotel to the new Premier Inn is the Savoro Hotel and Restaurant at 206 High Street, not far from the junction with the High Street and St Albans Road.