Esh Construction delivers 80-room Travelodge at Cobalt Business Park

A £3.6 million scheme which has transformed a commercial office building at Cobalt Business Park into an 80-room Travelodge has been delivered by Esh Construction.

The development was completed by Esh’s commercial build division on behalf of Newcastle-based developer, Union Property.

Formerly known as Cobalt 3.3, the two-storey office accommodation has been converted into 68 rooms while an adjoining lightweight steel frame extension constructed at the southern end of the building has created 12 further rooms. A bar café and reception feature on the ground floor with an on-site car park outside the main entrance.

Esh Construction was appointed as the design and build contractor in November 2020 with work getting underway early in 2021. Brian Joyce, Construction Director at Esh Construction, said: “We are delighted to handover the new hotel and bring a vacant building on the busy Cobalt Business Park back into use.

“This scheme marks the first Travelodge completed by Esh Construction in partnership with Union Property, with a second set to follow in 2022 as part of a £10 million retail development which is currently underway at the entrance to Hexham.”

Peter Carruthers, Consultant Project Director at Union Property, said: “This is the first of our two new hotels that we are opening this year for Travelodge. We have two further properties in our UK hotel pipeline, showing our continued commitment to our UK expansion strategy. We continue to look for further opportunities in the large cities around the UK.

“The close collaborative working between our team, Travelodge and all stakeholders has been a hallmark of the project’s success. We would like to thank the Esh Construction team, our design team, subcontractors and supply chain who have all been instrumental in the project’s completion.”

Esh Construction worked in partnership with Wake Morley, Portland Consulting Engineers and kyoob to deliver the project.

It is Travelodge’s seventh hotel in Newcastle and the first budget hotel to open at the UK’s largest business park. The room categories include family, double and accessible accommodations. Travelodge is also working with Union Property and Esh Construction on a 69-room hotel with an on-site restaurant called the Bar Café at Hexham in Northumberland.