Travelodge has announced proposals for £88million project which will see 11 new hotels open up in Essex and potentially 350 new jobs for people in the county.

Although confirmation is yet to be made on whether the hotels are going to be built, the company is looking to expand its number of hotels in the county, with plans for five new ones opening up in south Essex.

Travelodge says it is planning new hotels in Southend, Basildon, Canvey, Rayleigh and Grays.

Elsewhere in the county, it is looking to open hotels in Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester, Maldon, Epping and Waltham Abbey, and they have already confirmed a new one in Romford.

If built, it would be the first Travelodge hotel in Rayleigh and Canvey and the third one in Basildon.

The company already has one Travelodge in Southend, in Chichester Road, but plans have already been confirmed to build a new Travelodge in Lucy Road as part of a new development on Seaway Car Park.

It’s looking for a third site, so there could be two new Travelodge hotels coming to Southend.

A spokesperson for Travelodge said: “The development, including a proposed Travelodge Hotel at Seaway Car Park, Lucy Road is going ahead and Travelodge will be opening a hotel there in due course as the development progresses.

“We continue to seek another site in Southend, though it is very early stages at this point.”

Bryn Taylor, Travelodge regional director for the south east said: “Essex is a key growth area for Travelodge.

“Following our £1.2million investment in upgrading the customer experience and raising quality levels across our Essex hotels, we have seen a significant rise in sales, interestingly with more business customers staying in our hotels than ever before.

“The Essex economy is growing at pace with increasing visitor numbers to the area.

“However, there is still a shortage of good quality accommodation at a great value price, which is what we offer.

“This expansion programme would boost Travelodge’s portfolio to 35 hotels in Essex and create an additional 350 new jobs.”

There are currently 14 Travelodges in Essex, so if this expansion were to go ahead it would mean that the number of hotels would almost double in the county.

Essex was the home of the first Travelodge in 1986, which opened in Brentwood.