Travelodge in Edge Lane proposal

Plans to bring a Travelodge hotel and a branch of discount retailer The Range to Liverpool Innovation Park, Edge Lane have been lodged by planning consultant MWA.

The buildings in question are on a former industrial site, closed since 2005, bordering the Innovation Park’s existing offices and industrial space. The former 1980s-built Marconi production hall, Building 3, offers 78,500 sq ft and will house a store for Plymouth-headquartered homeware chain.

Building 19 is a 1950s-built office block, comprising 54,000 sq ft over four floors. Part of this will be converted to a Travelodge hotel and the remainder marketed as offices.

A drive-through Costa coffee shop would be added at the site, where space is plentiful – there are more than 800 parking spaces fronting Edge Lane.

The joint applicants are Liverpool property company Valedown, which purchased the site in January, and CDS, parent company of The Range.

Owen Ellis, architect for the scheme, said in its design & access statement that “this section of Edge Lane require new investment and regeneration” and that despite the success of the other parts of the Innovation Park, originally an NWDA-backed development, the scale of the buildings here meant that the site “was always going to be a challenge”.

The application states that the provision of more hotel rooms in the area would support the development of film studios at the neighbouring Littlewoods site, which was acquired by Capital & Centric for that purpose in April.