A NEW hotel planned for London Colney came a step nearer this week as plans were submitted for approval. The 86-bedroom hotel with an extra five bedrooms for staff will be sited behind the Savacentre petrol station on a long triangle of land next to t

A NEW hotel planned for London Colney came a step nearer this week as plans were submitted for approval. The 86-bedroom hotel - with an extra five bedrooms for staff - will be sited behind the Savacentre petrol station on a long triangle of land next to the M25. London Colney Parish Council clerk Mrs Linda Giblin said: "Some people in the village were worried that it would bring a major influx of traffic but it shouldn't be too bad because there won't be any conference facilities and the restaurant will be guests-only. It will provide much-needed accommodation." The budget-type hotel will provide 99 car-parking spaces and will be run by the Splendid Hotel Group, based in Pinner, Middlesex. A spokesperson for Splendid declined to comment but said they would be happy to discuss it once the plans had been approved. An outline plan for the hotel has already been approved by planning inspector Philip Major following an appeal by Sainsbury's against Hertsmere Council's refusal of planning permission for the scheme. The council had turned down the bid because the land was in the Green Belt. But Mr Major pointed out that the rest of the site, which is in the St Albans district, is not in the Green Belt and accepted that there was a shortage of hotel rooms in the area. The draft St Albans District Plan - the council's planning blueprint - predicts a shortage of 400 hotel bedrooms by this year. The application is expected to go before Hertsmere's planning Committee on February 9.