A HOTEL and coffee shop near Liphook has been bought by East Hampshire District Council.

The £1.5m Metro Inn Hotel and Starbucks coffee shop on the northbound section of the A3 is the district council's third acquisition since the authority decided to shift its investments from low-interest cash to the high returns of property "by buying up local properties", according to a statement issued this week.

The deal brings district council expenditure over the last two years to £3.7m on its property portfolio, which includes Barclays Bank on Petersfield High Street opposite The Square, and the Co-op store in Four Marks.

For full story, see this week's Liphook Herald.