Plans to turn a Teddington office block into a hotel have prompted a mixed reaction.

Travelodge has applied to Richmond Council to turn Park house, in Station Road, into a new 113-room hotel with a bar for guests.

The plan would see the seven-storey office block remodelled and a nearby production studio demolished and replaced with a new four-storey building with a restaurant, including space for outside dining and offices.

The scheme was welcomed by businesses but initial reactions from residents on Richmond Council’s website were hostile.

Sheena Harold, chairwoman of Teddington Business Community’s Christmas lights committee, said she could see the benefits of a hotel in the area.

She said: “It could bring a lot of foot traffic to the restaurants, cafes and gift shops [in Teddington] from short-stay visitors. Transport links by train and bus are excellent for longer stays and there is a small amount of underground car parking at the present. The only proviso I can see is the frontage which needs to be in keeping with the surrounding area.”

But Gale Carlill, of Bridgeman Road, registered her objection to the scheme on the council’s planning section.

She said: “My objection is with regards to parking and the additional traffic created. The hotel has allocated 76 spaces but if hotel residents are to be charged for this they will look to park in the local streets which are quiet residential streets where children play and residents often have difficulty parking.

With standard hotel check in/out times, for an overnight hotel guest, parking in the streets would often be free and without restriction. Parking in the hotel car park therefore needs to be free to all residents to avoid any such problems.”

The hotel would be the second Travelodge in the borough as permission has already been granted for one on the site of Regal House, Twickenham.

A Travelodge spokesman, in a planning statement, said there would be numerous benefits to moving to the site.

He added: “The proposed development would have a considerable employment potential, of about 100 full-time equivalent jobs [and there will be] vibrancy and spin-off economic and employment benefits.

A 113-bed hotel would expect, with room occupancy of 85 per cent and a mix of singles and couples, around 150 guests per night.

“Travelodge surveys show that the private bar/cafe provided in their hotels as a service to guests is only used by a minority. Thus a high proportion of those 150 guests would eat within pubs, cafes and restaurants and the total economic benefit could be £600,000 to £1.2m per annum.”