BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge has identified Ardrossan as a ‘key growth area’ as they look to build another 20 hotels across Scotland.

Last year we reported how the hotel owners were looking at Ardrossan as a possible location for a hotel and this week they confirmed that the town was part of their £125million expansion plans.

Travelodge has identified Ardrossan as an up and coming tourism destination and wants to support North Ayrshire Council’s newly published Tourism Blueprint to ‘help Ardrossan fulfil its potential as a major destination for visitors’.

Travelodge has undertaken a number of partnerships with councils in England, with the burden of funding the development on the authority, but leaving the option to rent out the hotel or sell it to Travelodge.

And the council are hoping the development would act as a catalyst for wider regeneration.

To kick start its expansion programme, Travelodge have written to North Ayrshire Council proposing a joint development partnership that will help regenerate local communities and unlock development potential.

The letter outlines the pivotal role that the partnerships Travelodge has with 12 authorities in England and Wales to help support local regeneration, create jobs and boost the local economy – and how it can do the same for local communities around Scotland.

They claim these partnerships have ‘enabled local authorities to utilise existing assets, create jobs, generate income, and help to regenerate land’.

Hotels in the programme are built on surplus local authority land, with the funding provided either by the local authority’s internal resource or via low-cost funding from the Public Works Loan Board or third party resources.

Upon completion of the hotel development, local authorities have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and receiving an annual rent into the council’s revenue budget or selling the hotel with travelodge as its operator.

Brian Wallace, Travelodge Chairman said: "Many local authorities are in possession of large amounts of property and assets that are not being utilised." Investing in a low-cost hotel like Travelodge is an increasingly attractive choice, as it draws visitors, creates jobs and helps boost the local economy.”“We operate 44 hotels across Scotland. However the country is growing at pace and attracting visitors from all corners of the globe but there still remains a huge shortage of good quality and great value hotels. To fill this gap, we want to extend our Scottish network with a further 20 hotels and this includes our first hotel in Ardrossan. To help us achieve this, we are writing to North Ayrshire Council, to invite them to consider how Travelodge can act as a catalyst to drive their local development agenda.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We are currently finalising ambitious plans for the area with partners including Peel Ports and Transport Scotland, following the successful campaign to retain the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry service.

“A hotel development would form a key part of our plans to make the harbour investment a catalyst for wider regeneration of Ardrossan. It would have the potential to provide positive economic benefits to the area.

“We believe there are a number of site options for a hotel development and will seek to discuss potential site options with Travelodge and other operators.”