Work begins next week to demolish former hotel to make way for Travelodge and Italian restaurant

Demolition of the former Sun Inn hotel in Gainsborough to make way for a new Travelodge and Italian restaurant will begin next week.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on August 15 to mark the start of work on the new project, which will create 72 jobs as well as aiming to regenerate the town centre.

The new development includes a 56-room Travelodge hotel, Ponti’s Italian Kitchen on the ground floor, an alfresco dining area and water feature.

Work on the project to transform the Market Street, Market Place, Church Street and North Street area of Gainsborough is being carried out by Dransfield Properties and West Lindsey District Council.

There will be a temporary reduction in the number of spaces at the Roseway Car Park.

Alternative parking options are available during the demolition and build, which is expected to take 48 weeks.

They will be displayed both in the car park itself and on West Lindsey District Council’s website.

Visuals of the new development

Mark Dransfield, managing director for Dransfield Properties Ltd, previously said: “We know from our own experience as well as through speaking to the wider business community that there is a long held aspiration for a hotel in the town, this will be a huge boost to both business and tourism.”

The scheme has received the backing of Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh.

He said: “This scheme will bring much needed hotel space to Gainsborough. Other than a handful of excellent bed and breakfasts the hotel scene in the town is almost entirely absent.

“Local businesses have been crying out for somewhere to accommodate their visitors and the local tourist economy is being hampered by the lack of a hotel of the proposed scale and standard.

“In the wider area the hotel would also support the Robin Hood Airport nearby.”

Eve Fawcett-Moralee, director of Economic and Commercial Growth at West Lindsey District Council, said: “We are delighted to see that work will be starting on the demolition and build of the new hotel next week.”