A Havering businessman has moved another step forward in his mission to put our borough on the map for the 2012 Olympics.

Paul Harris, owner of Harefield Manor Hotel, this week welcomed builders back on site in Main Road, Romford, to continue working on his hotel extension which was delayed at the end of last year.

The �300,000 project to expand the four-star venue will be followed by a further �1million investment in the hotel’s second building on the other side of the road with all of the work aiming to attract more people to the area and particularly encourage Olympics visitors to consider choosing Havering as their base for attending the event.

Mr Harris said: “I’m trying to make a feature of Havering. What people don’t realise is Olympic visitors are not going to go into London every day. We’ve got a terrific shopping centre here. We’re one of the greenest boroughs in London. Havering has a lot going for it and we want to make the most of it.”

The first phase of work at Harefield Manor, which initially began back in September but delayed due to bad weather and groundworks issues, will introduce eight more rooms to the main building, along with a new outdoor dining area for 120 people, outdoor bar area, new lighting to the front, side and back of the hotel and a new 7ft wall and pillars at the entrance on the corner of Pettits Lane.

Its expected to be completed in seven weeks.

In August the hotel’s other building’s entrance area is to be upgraded to five-star standard and an extra 19 rooms are to be built taking the amount for both sections to 63.

Mr Harris said: “We are the only four-star hotel within six-and-a-half miles of the stadium. This will make us the biggest in the area.”

Paul Harris has been pushing to get Havering recognised as a key player in the Olympics with the support of Havering Council, Romford Recorder, MacDonalds and Lloyds TSB since last year launching a website, www.visithavering.org, to promote the area and help other businesses and visitors realise its potential.