Hotel chain Travelodge has targeted Marlow as a key location in a large regeneration project which has already seen £11.5 million of UK investment.

The international company said it wants to build a hotel in town using council land - a move which it said could also lead to new community developments nearby.

The budget chain, which has more 500 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, has written to Wycombe District Council to seek its approval over the partnership.

Peter Gowers, Travelodge chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with leading local authorities to help local communities realise the income potential, job creation and other community benefits that a Travelodge-backed development scheme can bring to their area.

“There are considerable growth opportunities for Travelodge in the area and we are looking forward to adding further hotels to the portfolio as we extend the programme over the years ahead.”

Travelodge’s proposal would see WDC obtaining a low-cost loan from the Public Works Loan Board to build on “surplus” council land.

The council could then lease the site to Travelodge on a long-term basis, generating revenue, creating Marlow jobs and acting as a catalyst for new developments nearby, said the hotel chain.

A previous plan with Wycombe District Council to build a Travelodge at Computer House, near Marlow Station, fell through.

Sue Robinson, WDC spokesman, said: “The council did have a proposed joint development with Travelodge for the former Computer House, Station Road at the Marlow town end of Globe Park but that unfortunately did not proceed.

“However we are still in discussions with Travelodge, in the hope of finding them alternative sites to consider.”

Existing council partnerships with the hotel chain have secured extra community facilities for other areas, such as a deal announced in Bicester.

There, a regeneration of Bicester’s Franklin’s Yard area will see a 54-room Travelodge hotel, a new library, council office space and a number of retail units.

With hundreds of thousands of visitors flocking to Marlow each year, the area's thriving hotel scene includes the 168-room Crowne Plaza on Fieldhouse Lane and the riverside Compleat Angler.

The mooted Travelodge would face competition from Premier Inn, which already has 17 en-suite rooms above the George and Dragon pub on the Causeway.

 James Pieslak, Travelodge spokesman, said tourist trap Marlow is high on the list of the company’s priorities.

He said: “We have targeted Marlow as a place we definitely want to open a hotel.

“You only have to look at the number of people coming into the town, and so we’ve identified the town as a place we want to be."

Though no specific site has been identified, Mr Pieslak said a regeneration project of council land could see new retail premises and other buildings as part of the hotel development.