Britain's smallest city in fight to stop Premier Inn opening

Locals in St Davids are battling to stop a Premier Inn from opening in the Welsh city, which is the smallest in Britain with just 1,300 residents.

SEE ALSO: 100,000 petition as Saudi king closes French Riviera beach for holiday

SEE ALSO: Investigation after council wastes £55k on pirate world record attempt

A petition has been launched and more than 2,700 people have signed it, including over 500 locals.

Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, says that the three-storey hotel would create a "sympathetic... 'gateway' feature" for tourists in the city, the Financial Times reports.

As part of its planning application, Whitbread has promised to fun 38 houses among 70 which are set to be built with the hotel.

The hotel would have 63 rooms, 160 beds and a restaurant, making it three times bigger than any other hotel in St Davids.

According to the BBC, the petition claims the Premier Inn would "undermine" local businesses and "pave the way for more big chains" to arrive in the city.

In a public meeting, 15 people were in favour of Premier Inn, while 270 voted against it.

Tracey Foster, who runs a guest house in St Davids, told the Daily Mail: "Premier Inn will just wipe out everybody. All my German, Swiss and Austrian guests say what a beautiful unspoilt place. Do you really want to turn around and see a big monstrosity of a purple sign outside it?"