BUDGET accommodation chain Travelodge has revealed plans to open another hotel in Bournemouth.

The £7 million development will create 25 jobs and will be the chain’s fourth hotel in the town.

The move is part of a £165 million expansion programme in seaside and coastal town around the UK.

But the exact location of the hotel has not yet been decided.

Travelodge currently has popular hotels on the West Cliff, in Christchurch Road and at the Cooper Dean roundabout.

Travelodge is the UK’s first budget hotel brand and will celebrate 20 years of trading at UK seaside resorts this summer.

Bournemouth has been described as a “key target development area” for Travelodge and a spokesman said: “It is one of the top UK coastal locations that is growing year on year.

“However there is still a shortage of branded budget accommodation within the area to fulfil growing consumer demand.”

Travelodge opened its first seaside hotel in Brighton in 1999 and has recently opened its 36th seaside resort hotel at Rhyl beach.

The company plans to expand in a total of 26 areas including Weymouth, Newquay, Aberystwyth, Eastbourne, Falmouth, Jersey, Whitstable and Lowestoft.

Hotels will be built on surplus local authority land with funding provided either through the Local Authorities internal resource or via low-cost funding from the Public Works Loan Board or third-party resources.

Upon completion of the hotel development, local authorities have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and receiving an annual rent into the council’s revenue budget or selling the hotel with Travelodge as its operator.

UK Development Director Tony O’Brien said: “We are seeing the rebirth of British seaside resorts and coastal towns as a result of Britons changing holiday habits. “We are becoming a strong Staycation nation that likes to take lots of short breaks throughout the year rather than a traditional two-week block holiday and Bournemouth is a key destination for us.”