Plans for Shrewsbury Travelodge approved despite 'heritage concerns'

Plans to build an 83-bedroom Travelodge in central Shrewsbury have been approved by Shropshire Council despite objections from 54 members of the public.

The full application includes the construction of a four-storey building housing a hotel and three retail units on a car park with a capacity for up to 93 vehicles.

The site is located within the Shrewsbury Conservation Area and adjoins Rowley’s Mansion and House, a Grade II*-listed building, and Shrewsbury Baptist Church.

Under the current proposals, the upper floors of the development will be leased to Travelodge for a minimum of 25 years.

Shrewsbury Town Council disagreed with the terms of the proposal because “the size of the building was still not justified and was still too large for the site”.

Historic England also raised concerns “on heritage grounds” and said “the proposed building would continue to be an incongruous and intrusive addition to the historic streetscape”.

The development also attracted 54 letters of objection from members of the public, who expressed concerns about the lack of consultation with surrounding residents and the “hideous architectural design” of the proposal.

However, the project also received eight letters of support from the public, who said there was a need for more hotel accommodation within Shrewsbury.

At Shropshire Council’s Northern Planning Committee meeting on 7 November, councillor Nat Green said: “To have a scheme to have in effect be described as ‘better than a car park’ is a very low bar to clear and the statement is not necessarily true in any event.

“The client seems to be insisting on 83 beds as this has never changed in all of the iterations that have been produced. If that is Travelodge’s economic breakeven point, then Travelodge should find another site.”

However, Ian Kilby, the agent for the planning application, responded: “The scheme is acceptable in principle. The design of the scheme has been revised twice while under reconsideration. In terms of the economic consideration the scheme would represent a £7.8m investment.

“The 83 rooms are considered to generate over 42,000 visitors annually which could add a further £2.7m of visitor spend to the local economy.”

The proposal was approved with six councillors voting in favour and four voting against.