Travelodge confirms bid to bring 89-room hotel to Bishop’s Stortford as contracts exchanged

Travelodge has exchanged contracts to operate a new 89-room hotel in Bishop’s Stortford.

The budget accommodation, which does not yet have detailed planning permission, will be developed by Solum, the developer of the Goods Yard scheme by the railway station.

Bishop’s Stortford Town Council has criticised the “uninspiring” design of the proposed hotel and expressed concerns about plans to provide parking for guests at Jackson Square and Crown Terrace.

Steve Bennett, Travelodge’s chief property and development officer, said: “We are delighted to have exchanged contracts with Solum for our proposed Bishop’s Stortford Travelodge.

“This is our second development deal that we have transacted with Solum, which previously built and delivered our fantastic Travelodge in the centre of Epsom.”

Travelodge now operates more than 600 hotels across the UK and is targeting locations for a further 300, with 95 of these in the South East.

“Our ongoing expansion will create even more jobs across the UK and will allow us to continue to offer our diverse customer base of business and leisure customers great value when travelling across the South East and the wider UK,” said Mr Bennett.

Plans for the hotel, with commercial space on the ground floor, were submitted to East Herts Council last September.

It is understood that objections from Hertfordshire County Council, the lead local flood authority, have delayed determination of the scheme.

According to its SuDS (sustainable drainage system) and watercourses technical specialist, the submitted flood risk assessment and drainage strategy are “insufficient and would potentially increase flood risk elsewhere”.

The objection says: “The application is proposing to freely discharge unattenuated surface water to the wider network, which has not yet been agreed. No SuDS are proposed as part of the application.”

The county council has called for “site-specific calculations” to be provided.

Last August, East of England Co-op was the first retailer to open at Solum’s Goodsyard development, which was granted planning permission in May 2018.

In April this year, the chain was joined by tailoring service The Zip Yard and tanning salon Tan Express. A new café is also being fitted out.

The £200m Goodsyard scheme – a joint venture between Network Rail and Kier Property – also includes office space and a 55-bed care home as well as more than 700 homes and two multi-storey car parks delivering almost 1,000 spaces.