'Still concerns' over Travelodge plan for Leighton Buzzard despite developer webinar

Questions are still unanswered about plans for a Travelodge in Leighton Buzzard town centre – despite a webinar to discuss them.

Burney Group is running a consultation about plans to build a 75-bed hotel on land to the rear of the Post Office, which the developer says would create 14 jobs.

But concerns were raised it could be a 'Trojan Horse' for flats, which Burney Group has dispelled as a "rumour".

A spokesman for Burney Group said: "We were delighted to get the opportunity to speak to so many people at our webinar. Most importantly, we were able to explain that yes, this will be a hotel development. Somehow a rumour has started that this could be a residential development but this is not the case: Travelodge are committed to occupying a hotel here and are looking forward to opening in what they believe will be a successful location.

"I would urge everyone to visit our website – www.churchsquareproposals.co.uk – to see how the hotel could bring £1.8m of investment annually to Leighton Buzzard and create jobs for the community."

Chairman of LB First, Gennaro Borrelli, attended the webinar.

He said: "The presentation was very slick and professional, and apparently Travelodge has had its eye on Leighton Buzzard for a while. We are certainly not anti-Travelodge; we would simply like to see that the right kind of development benefit residents of the town.

"I know The Peppercorn Centre has been pushing Central Bedfordshire Council [CBC] to develop some of the land [on the South Side of the High Street] as an arts, culture and heritage centre. If something like that could be considered by the council, it could boost the economic claim for the hotel to be there. Perhaps Travelodge, even working with CBC, could look at the land, and discuss whether the hotel could be better suited to a different part, for example."

However, he told the LBO that the webinar had not quashed worries about noise and machinery during construction, while its target of £1.8m was "not realistic in the current economic climate."

He added: "We were told that provided that planning permission is granted, Travelodge had committed to a 30-year lease of the building. But until that lease is signed, anything could change at any moment."

Paul Brown, one of the trustees of the Peppercorn Centre, said: "The developers said they had been in extensive talks for months with CBC planners and it was clear they had made amendments to their plans in order to get planning permission. This included leaving a roadway free in the front of the hotel that could connect with the land the council owns behind Wilkos and right over to Duncombe Drive. This would enable the shops on the south side of the High Street to have delivery lorries and the High Street to be pedestrianised.

"It seemed that without consulting people, they had already done a deal with the planners. On the plus side, they did agree to talk to the Leighton Buzzard Archaeological and Historical Society and the Peppercorn Group, an invitation we will accept. However, most of the people and organisations I have spoken to since remain opposed and cynical about the true intentions of the developers and CBC planners."