Town's new hotel may share space with NHS

An artist's impression of how the new Travelodge and shared NHS space could look

A new four-storey hotel has been approved for a development site and could end up sharing its ground floor with the NHS, planners revealed.

The Travelodge is due to be built in Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire with 92 rooms.

East Herts District Council planning committee has said the National Health Service would be able to occupy a commercial unit there when construction on the hotel finishes.

The Goods Yard development site, close to the town's railway station, has been in the planning since 2018 and is being delivered by Solum Regeneration.

The hotel will be built at the north of the Goods Yard development in Bishop's Stortford

The developer hinted at the committee meeting that its talks with the NHS were to do with the doctors' surgery at South Street, but no further information was provided.

Building was due to start next summer on the Travelodge, which will be in the northern part of the Goods Yard and will be bordered by Station Road, Dane Street and Anchor Street.

The local authority's granting of planning permission for the hotel runs in tandem with already-existing plans to redevelop the bus interchange on Station Road.

A fourth bus bay would be added, as would more shelters and digital displays showing bus times and passenger information.

Simon Dunlop, the project lead for Solum, said: "We have worked hard to secure Travelodge as the hotel operator.

"We're holding encouraging discussions with the NHS for the commercial space… having GP provision in such an accessible location will enhance overall amenity for the town."

A completion date for the work has been given as halfway through 2027.

A frontal view of how the 92-room Travelodge and ground-floor office space would look

Parking for hotel guests was limited to 70 spaces in Jackson Square and Crown Terrace car parks, and some planning committee members were worried this could deny shoppers spaces.

Ian Devonshire, Conservative councillor for Much Hadham ward, said: "Crown Terrace car park is a long, long way from this hotel.

"I can't believe people are going to park there and walk all that distance, and Jackson Square is a good 10-minute walk."

Martin Adams, Liberal Democrat councillor for All Saints ward, said: "It's going to bring employment, it's going to do all the good stuff.

"People come out of the station and that's going to be one of the first things they see."

But he warned that adequate lighting was needed for footpaths around the hotel and bus station, warning "200 people with umbrellas in a very dark evening are going to struggle if there's a lot of people queueing for buses".