Works are ongoing at 11 Station Road on a Travelodge hotel with a hope to open in early 2027.
Construction has been underway since June last year and Daniel Harris, of developer London Iron Works, previously told the Recorder that the project is around 70 per cent completed.
He also confirmed that talks are in the “final stages” with Pure Gym Ltd to open a new PureGym branch on the ground floor of the building.
Daniel Harris (Image: NQ)
A formal planning statement has also been submitted to Havering Council, asking for opening-hour restrictions to be removed from a previous planning agreement.
Planning permission was previously granted upon appeal in January 2024, which said that the commercial units on the ground floor of the building would only be able to operate from 7am to 11pm on Mondays to Saturdays and 8am to 10pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
The new planning application seeks for this rule to be removed, allowing PureGym to operate on a 24-hour basis.
The planning statement claims that 24-hour opening is one of the “key characteristics” of PureGym.
The hotel is planned to open early next year (Image: Peter Barrett)
It said: “It enables members to fit gym visits around their working patterns and provides access for those who wish to exercise when the gym is less busy.
“The nearest existing, 24-hour PureGym facilities are in Hornchurch and Harold Wood, and the applicant wishes to extend similar benefits to members of its new gym in Upminster.”
A decision is expected to be made by Havering Council by December 22 this year.
London Iron Works bought the site of the hotel three years ago and Daniel has been involved from the start, including changes made after the original sub-contractors entered administration last summer.
Stack London was then appointed as a replacement contractor.
The development will include 82 hotel rooms, made up of standard, accessible, family and ‘super’ rooms.
Hotel breakfast will be served on the ground floor, but there will be no restaurant for other meals.
An Esquires coffee shop is also planned for the ground floor.
Daniel previously told the Recorder: “I think there’s a real shortage of hotel rooms here [in Upminster] and Travelodge use very sophisticated technology to work out where there is a shortage.
“You’ve got the train station with great access to central London, you’re on the M25, it’s a good place for tourists from out of town to treat as a base point before moving on and travelling to London.
“There’s also West Ham’s training ground round the corner in Rush Green and whilst I don’t think the players or the manager would be staying in the hotel, the youth teams might and there’s a lot of requirement in the area for this hotel.
“Now we’re really excited to open.”