Residents unhappy at planning application to build a Travelodge site in Upminster.
Havering Council has received a planning application on the former Time-Tees site on Station Road for a proposed development to build a Travelodge.
The proposal is for an 82 room hotel, it also includes a commercial unit that is likely to be rented to a major retailer.
The planning application was shared yesterday by local Councillor Oscar Ford on a social media Facebook group and received endless complaints.
Locals firstly questioned the need for a hotel in Upminster, pointing out that it really isn’t an area that is visited much by those outside of Havering and did not warrant the building of a hotel.
They were also unhappy by the idea of having another tower block going up in the area, that really is out of place for Upminster.
It was also rightly pointed out that Palms on the A127 has been left empty for years and offers the same facility for Havering. So if that had been left vacant for so long, why the need to build another hotel type building in the nearby area?
Another important point for the area is that the proposed build is on Station Lane, that offers very little to no parking and would cause a nightmare for residents who use the area daily for shopping and those that live nearby. During school hours, the area by the traffic lights is always very heavily congested and the addition of a hotel would increase this and the poor levels of air quality.
Station Lane has multiple schools in walking distance and parents travel in from outside of the area by car, so congestion would be a huge issue here.
Please see the planning application below.
https://development.havering.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=P1585.22&from=planningSearch
With the new proposal for an 80 room Travelodge, a proposed quarry in Rainham and 50 new houses being built on Upminster Golf course you can see the a clear picture on what’s happening, add the proposed road extension of the M25 for the new Kent bridge, Upminster will no doubt be imploding with traffic congestion and air pollution.
I personally think it’s at breaking point already, I live in North Upminster of Hall Lane and it’s difficult now to negotiate a drive into Upminster for a heavy shopping trip if I need to use the car. Or even get into back to my house at rush hour or weekends especially.
There is no infrastructure in place to handle any more traffic.
My other concern is the safety in and around Upminster. 80 Rooms is possible 160 strangers new to Upminster in the area, while many will be trustworthy, do we really need a hotel of strangers living in our community. This hotel will be for people and the odd business person working on some of the new proposals that are being pushed through in the area. It’s too much of a coincidence for that not to be the case.
I fear for Upminster in coming years, it doesn’t need the additional volume of people travelling through on a daily basis. Or for that matter staying over a prolonged period.
Upminster will become hostel for construction workers building the new road extension, 50 plus houses or working on the quarry development.
For the safety of our kids who are free to wander safely around the area, that will change very quickly, and very soon. Police presence is non-existent at times.
Who’s going to manage the new influx of people and issues caused by the impending proposals happening within our town and close proximity of our town.
The roads are at breaking point, the long term safety of the town and the general volume of additional people won’t be sustainable, parking is at a minimum and will not be enough to handle what’s heading our way.
I fear for Upminster and what it’ll become.
Regards Concerned resident