Plans to build a Premier Inn hotel next to Aldi in Saffron Walden have been submitted to Uttlesford District Council.

The proposal is for a new 70-bed, three-storey hotel and restaurant on the ground floor, which will serve hotel guests but will also open to the public.

The plans, in Thaxted Road, include two car parks, which could accommodate almost 100 cars, including disabled spaces and motorcycle spaces, and two electric charging bays have been proposed.

The hotel is to be operated by Premier Inn, to fulfil what it says is a “suitable demand for a new hotel” in Saffron Walden.

The hotel and restaurant, which will have 152 covers, are expected to create about 40 jobs and the site will be open 24 hours.

The site has been vacant and available for employment development for about 12 years and the applicants believe the proposed development will contribute towards reinforcing a “strong, responsive and competitive ‘local’ economy” within the area through the delivery of new hotel accommodation and direct and indirect job creation.

The building has been designed so the main entrances for both the hotel and the restaurant are facing the existing foodstore and proposed retail development, while also being visible from the main junction with Thaxted Road.

The planning statement has been prepared by Barton Willmore LLP on behalf of Granite Property Investments Ltd to assess the planning issues arising from an application for the development of a new hotel on land at Thaxted Road, Saffron Walden.

The applicant says the development proposals provide an efficient use of the remaining brownfield site which is in much need of “regeneration and design intervention”.