Council chiefs welcome interest from hotel chain

Council chiefs have welcomed interest from a hotel chain looking at building in the area.

Travelodge has written to both Chesterfield Borough Council and Bolsover District Council to try and strike up a partnership to finance the construction of a new hotel in the area.

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said: “We are already committed to working with developers on the delivery of a number of hotel schemes in Chesterfield, including the planned conversion of the former Co-operative department store to a Premier Inn.

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“That said, we are always interested in talking with companies that are looking to invest in the town and borough.

“Increasing the numbers of hotel beds available within the town and borough is important as we need to encourage more people to use Chesterfield as a base for exploring our visitor attractions as well as those in the wider Peak District.”

Bolsover District Council leader, Councillor Ann Syrett, said: “This is good news and we welcome the interest shown by Travelodge as this aligns with our vision for accommodation in the area. This will help us attract visitors and boost our economy. We do have a lack of accommodation in the area, so we will be contacting them to start discussions as soon as possible.”

A spokesman for Travelodge said that during the last three years, the hotel chain has completed seven local authority development partnership deals.

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The spokesman said: “These bespoke agreements have had unique funding structures, all of which have enabled local authorities to utilise their existing assets, create jobs, generate income, and help to regenerate land in strategically important locations.

“Hotels in the programme are built on surplus local authority land, with the funding provided either through the local authority’s internal resource or via low-cost funding from the Public Works Loan Board or third party resources.”

“Upon completion of the hotel development, local authorities have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and receiving an annual rent into the council’s revenue budget or selling the hotel with Travelodge as its operator.”

Peter Gowers, Travelodge chief executive, said: Adding a low-cost hotel like Travelodge is an increasingly attractive choice.”