Ipswich Borough Council’s planning committee has approved plans for a new Travelodge in Ipswich near the Ipswich Town Football Club.

The the 100-bedroom hotel will be developed by the Burney Group on an underutilised car park in Russell Road next to the closed down Better Gym. 

Daren Burney, Managing Director of Burney Group, says: “We’re excited to bring forward this new hotel in Ipswich. It’s a strong location that will benefit from some regeneration and care to create new economic and employment opportunities for the town.” 

The five-storey hotel, designed by Dovetail Architects, will include 28 family rooms, 64 double rooms and eight accessible rooms, as well as allocated car parking underneath the building and some car park spaces outside. It will also have a bar and restaurant. 

John Baker, Managing Director of Dovetail Architects, said: “This is a welcome boost for Ipswich’s tourism trade which has been in desperate need of new, high-quality hotel accommodation for some time now. The hotel benefits from a strong location, which is just a stone’s throw from Portman Road stadium, while acting as a gateway to the rail station and town centre.  

“Having worked with the Burney Group for many years, we know that they have an eye for identifying development opportunities that support the needs of local communities. We’re delighted to have achieved planning on this latest scheme and we look forward to getting started.” 

Work is planned to start by the end of the year.