Peckham High Street is a building site but there’s no discernible building activity on the Travelodge, which has stood encased in scaffolding for two years.

The two-storey building that originally stood on the site was started to be demolished in early 2018. Construction on the Travelodge started in early 2020. The hotel was supposed to open in August/September 2021, but continues to be shrouded in tarp with no sign of construction activity.

Peckham residents, who were always lukewarm about the development, say the delay is becoming a further annoyance. They say the construction site is an eyesore and is obstructing the pavement and road.

John Cooper, who lives in the area, says he is annoyed that there is “room for visitors, no post office for locals”. He says the development plan was always a disadvantage for the local community and the delay in completion is a disruption for everyone.

A Travelodge in Peckham was originally proposed in 2017. The five-story hotel, on 121-125 Peckham High Street, would occupy a site that used to have a post office and small local businesses. The hotel will have 56 rooms.

The delay in building and opening the hotel has added to the issues raised by locals. Its initial build is still being debated with Eileen Conn of Peckham Vision, a community group, saying that “the design (is) poor for that important part of the street scene”. She adds that it was bad news that the post office closed. “The one in the South Rye Lane having been closed (too), so there were large queues,” she said.

The new Travelodge is meant to cater to a need for hotel rooms in the area. According to the New Southwark Plan: Background Paper, which was published by the council in December 2019, Southwark is “continuing to contribute significant growth to the hotel and visitor accommodation sector” and also “remains supportive of new hotels”. It added that Southwark is meant to have 1,795 rooms in a 35-year period from 2016.

Travelodge offers no definite reason for the delay in construction. It says: “The hotel is currently being developed and is scheduled to open in late Spring 2022”.

Established as a “value hotel brand”, Travelodge has more than 500 hotels across the UK. It plans to build more hotels in diverse locations, as part of a new strategy. The company says the Peckham hotel will create five full-time and 12 part-time jobs in the area and will thereby be a benefit to residents.