Plans to expand Travelodge hotel stall as Council raises concerns
Plans to extend the Travelodge Hotel on the Tuam Road have stalled after the City Council raised concerns about parking at the site.
Mollydale Limited – which is ultimately 75% owned by the Brussels-based Goldman Sachs International, along with Aidan Crowe of Tifco Hotel Group and Gerry Houlihan of DID Electrical – had sought permission for a new entrance, lobby, restaurant and 17 new bedrooms as well as the enlargement of two existing bedrooms.
The application involves a change of use of the vacant ground floor and basement wholesale and retail units.
At the moment, there are 59 bedrooms in the hotel, along with 32 parking spaces to the front and 24 spaces to the rear.
Planners said the proposal is for a change of use of a bank (the former Permanent TSB premises) and wholesale with ancillary retail unit to hotel use.
“This creates an issue as the parking requirement for bank and office is different to that of wholesale with ancillary retail,” planners said, asking for a breakdown.
They have also queried if the proposed restaurant will be open to the public or guests only, and asked them to either omit signage on the building – which is included in drawings but does not have planning permission – or to include it as part of the application.