BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge said this week that it still plans to open up on a town centre plot that has just gone up for sale

The company first announced four years ago that it was hoping to create a new hotel on land off Edith Walk, between the back of the Foley Arms Hotel and Waitrose.

This week, the site has been put up for sale by property specialists Bilfinger GVA, with no guide price and unconditional offers invited for the freehold.

Placards advertising the sale have appeared on the two entrances to the one-acre site, off Worcester Road next to the Foley and off Edith Walk. It is being marketed as "suitable for a variety of uses, subject to planning consent".

In 2011, developer Allied Investment Partners (AIP) said it wanted to build a hotel, shops, restaurants and apartments on the site and had already signed a deal with Travelodge.

Nick Dines of Travelodge said the company was no longer working with AIP but was still hoping to develop the site. He said: "We still have an interest in the site and we very much hope to be able to speak to whoever buys it."

The sale is being carried out on behalf of G B Judd, joint LPA receiver.

No-one from AIP could be contacted by the Gazette yesterday.

Bob Tilley of Malvern Civic Society said: "We're pleased that something is moving forward on this important site, and we hope that it's bought by someone with the imagination and financial backing for a good scheme. We would also like to participate in any public discussion on this site."