Travelodge granted planning permission for hotel at Vauxhall bus station

Travelodge have received consent from Lambeth Council to build a new hotel at Vauxhall Bus Station that is expected to open by September 2012 (in time for the Paralympics, at least).  I wrote a post last year giving more details of the planned 148 bedroom Travelodge in Vauxhall.  I was quite positive about the development, considering that retail outlets on the ground floor would offer additional possibilities for commuters and locals on what is essentially at present a concrete island containing a lone Starbucks.  However, the Vauxhall Society objected on the basis that the application didn't come with an environmental assessment...  It seems Lambeth thought the positives outweighed the negatives.

Salmon Developments (the developers) have a few shots of how they expect the hotel to look.  It's worth noting that the six-storey building is to be constructed after the destruction of the current building on site, so that might cause a little mess for a year or so!

The formal address of the hotel is likely to be 1-9 Bondway, but hotel residents will (at least on one side) look on to the magnificent Vauxhall transport hub as they rub their bleary eyes in the morning.   Still, according to Property Week, the Travelodge central London development manager noted:

"There is no better location for a hotel in Vauxhall than this..."

I'm not so sure!  I'd have thought that the river views of the Albert Embankment might be more attractive.  But it's a central location, offers budget to medium-range accommodation and is likely to benefit commuters and local people who desire a more diverse range of shops/restaurants in the area.

Proposals for a new Vauxhall hotel at 1-9 Bondway and 4-6 South Lambeth Place

The excerpt from the plan above has been cut and paste from Lambeth Planning Database under the section for Application 10/03151/FUL, "Indicative Facade Section - Bondway".  Copyright Dexter Moren Associates.

My good bloggy commentator, Transport Mark, pointed to a planning application submitted in mid-September for a new 148 bedroom Travelodge in Vauxhall.  (It's 10/03151/FUL in the Lambeth Planning case the link doesn't work).  The first submission was invalid for some reason, but now it's definitely back on the table and residents have until the October 20th 2010 to respond.  Salmon Developments Plc own the land, and you can see a vague sketch of how they think the hotel might look on their site here.  Although Salmon plc have suggested the hotel will contain 155 beds, permission has been sought for only 148.

The application has been submitted for a 6 storey (and additional lower ground) building which would comprise a hotel with bar/restaurant, along with a variety of commercial units (retail, financial services, restaurants/cafes and drinking establishments) as well as a "roof level plant".  (I'm presuming that's some form of machinery).  It sounds as though they've hedged their bets somewhat, hoping for a complete range of planning permission for different types of establishment, but it looks the type of application that could be amended were they unable to find a particular type of tenant.  The hotel makes a change from the high rise proposals, which is good.  I imagine they'll have to replace what's currently in place, so it doesn't make sense to build up. I vaguely wonder whether there's a risk of over-hotelling, considering the level of hotel building currently taking place in Waterloo, but no doubt these companies know what they're doing!

There's currently a budget Comfort Inn hotel in Vauxhall, but it's some distance from the tube down South Lambeth Road.  There's a Park Plaza at 18 Albert Embankment (quite close to Lambeth Palace).  Lambeth Council granted planning permission for a new 168 bedroom hotel at the Oval (eventually, once the area was deemed "safe").  A hotel will form approx. half of the lower portion of one of the Vauxhall Island Site buildings (see here).  And I've this vague feeling that we had another hotel proposal suggested for Vauxhall, but I can't remember where, and I've searched my archives with no success.  Anyhow, none of the proposed hotels are huge, so there's probably no reason that the hotels can't happily co-exist.

I can't think of any reason not to support this application, although I'm wondering whether the proposal includes the land currently occupied by the Big Issue offices.  I don't think I'd be thrilled to stay in a hotel opposite Vauxhall bus station, (maybe they'll open up the South Lambeth Place side too), but I think retail units opposite the bus station would perform well and improve the area no end, and you can't beat the transport links!