BUDGET hotel group Travelodge wants to build in Weymouth in a potential union with the borough council, it has been announced.

The company has written to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council announcing its intentions.

It is inviting the council to join it in a partnership whereby the council could end up owning the hotel.

No sites have been suggested as yet and there is no indication of how big the hotel would be and how many jobs would be generated. It would be the first Travelodge hotel in Weymouth.

The letter to the council comes on the back of Travelodge announcing that it has secured three new hotel sites in such partnerships with other local authorities across the UK.

These deals, with Cherwell District Council at Bicester, Breckland Council at Thetford and with Reigate & Banstead Borough Council at Redhill, are the first results from a drive to help local authorities make use of local assets and regenerate local communities. The hotels in the programme are built on surplus local authority land, with the funding provided either through the council’s internal resources or via low-cost funding from the Public Works Loan Board.

Upon completion of the hotel development, local authorities have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and using the rental income from Travelodge to support the funding, or selling the hotel with Travelodge as its operator and retaining the development profits for the benefit of local communities.

Travelodge Chief Executive Peter Gowers said: “We are delighted to be working with leading local authorities to help local communities realise the income potential, job creation and other community benefits that a Travelodge-backed development scheme can bring to their area. There are considerable growth opportunities for Travelodge in the area and we are looking forward to adding further hotels to the portfolio as we extend the programme over the years ahead.”