High Wycombe's newest hotel has reached a major milestone ahead of its completion next year.

Anyone driving past the Handy Cross Hub will have seen huge progress being made on building the town’s newest hotel, a 150-bed, £21 million Hampton by Hilton offering.

The new hotel, which is set to fully completed in April next year, celebrated its 'topping out' this month - where the highest point of a building is completed.

Guests at the topping out ceremony were treated to a scene from A Christmas Carol on the roof of the hotel - with project quantity surveyor photographed lying in a hotel bed dressed as Scrooge.

Workers were able to build a new floor of the hotel "every 10 or so days" during the height of the construction work, said Marlow resident and CEO of Legacy Hotel and Resorts Andy Townsend.

But it hasn’t always been easy – since they acquired the site in 2018, builders have had to battle the coronavirus pandemic, a race to secure funding, strong winds and heavy rains to get to where they are now.

And even snow was briefly forecast for the topping out ceremony on December 4.

Andy said the hotel is going to be Hampton by Hilton’s “new generation prototype” – the first UK new build to represent the brand’s most recent “refresh”.

He added that the building will be a “landmark” for High Wycombe, especially for those passing by on the M40, having already established its place on the town's skyline.

He said: "Having spent much of 2019 in design workshops to enable the construction to commence in early 2020, little did we know that actually opening the hotel may be one of the easier aspects to the project.

"The implication of the pandemic on the construction process have certainly tested the skills of the whole design team.

"I am proud of all the projects we invest and have ownership in - to have one on my doorstep certainly focuses the mind a little more."

Along with 150 en-suite rooms with queen-sized beds including family rooms, the ground floor of the hotel will also be open to the public, with a meeting room for 14 people also being built and a bar area.

There will also be 47 car parking spaces for guests with electrical charging points in a dedicated car park and 25 more spaces at the Handy Cross Park and Ride car park in front of the hotel, as well as a small drop-off area.

Around 35 to 40 jobs created, both part time and full time, across different departments – a much-needed boost to the local economy amid a tough year for so many.

The plans are all part of a major £150 million redevelopment at the Handy Cross Hub site, which has so far seen a replacement leisure centre, a Waitrose supermarket, the Park and Ride and coachway and a children’s gym built.

There is still space on the Hub site, next door to the new hotel.

The hotel is a project by Frank Truman Asset Management and Legacy Hotels and Resorts, supported by a design team with RG Group, the main contractor responsible for construction of the scheme.