300-bed Travelodge in Greenwich Peninsular set for approval

By Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to build a new 300-bed Travelodge are set to get the seal of approval in the latest stage of the wholesale redevelopment of a riverfront.

Greenwich’s planning board will be asked on Tuesday to agree the O’Keefe Group’s plan to build the part-18-storey, part-six and nine-storey hotel.

It would dominate Greenwich Peninsula’s Boord Street, on a site next to the former East Greenwich Gas Works.

It’s the second time the group has come forward with the plan, after its first tilt in 2018 was rejected by the council because of a “poor quality design” which failed to “justify a tall building in this prominent location”.

Architects have looked to bypass the rejected proposal’s bulky outline by adding new pitched roofs across three blocks of differing heights.

The revised design includes an “unusual and highly distinctive roof form” – with council officers stating the overhauled look gives the hotel a “sleek appearance and the perception of a slimmer profile”.

That has been reason enough for council officers to flip their support of the project.

According to the council’s report, the proposal comes amid a “period of transition” for the area, which is still largely industrial.

In recommending the new scheme for approval, council officers described a Travelodge at the site as an “efficient use of a brownfield site in an urban location”.

They added that it would also support the nearby 02 and the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site by contributing to accommodation options for visitors to the borough.

Pictured top: Plans for the new Travelodge