Worried residents have been voicing their opposition to plans to build an 82 room hotel in Epsom town centre.

A planning application to create a Travelodge on the site of the Comrade's Club on The Parade were submitted to Epsom and Ewell Council last month.

An earlier planning application was refused in July 2009 because it was felt the building would be too large and would exacerbate existing parking problems in the town.

The new plans from Storm Land and Estates have cut the number of bedrooms by 3, reduced the height and moved the building back from the street.

Robert Ryan, development manager for Travelodge Hotels, said: "I hope people who were not happy with the original proposal we had back in 2009 will come to the public exhibition and see the changes we have made.

"This site has been recognised by the council as prime for a hotel development and I now hope we can show the planning committee that we have listened and responded to their concerns."

But a number of residents who have contacted the Epsom Guardian in the past few weeks still oppose the plans.

Monika Kosiorska, 32, of The Parade said: "The proposed design once again does not incorporate any parking. Without a residents parking scheme this will have a huge impact on local parking in The Parade, Heathcote Road, Hereford Close and Laburnum Road, as hotel staff and patrons will be looking to park in these residential roads.

"With the redevelopment of the Comrades Club, the law courts, the police station and clinic site living in this area may become intolerable for those residents with no off-street parking without a residents parking scheme in place.

"The encroaching commercialisation of The Parade, along with ever more multi-occupancy buildings, will continue to erode our residential area unless we stop it now. Parking is massively important, but so is protecting the ambience and community feeling our surroundings offer."

Malinda Griffin, who also lives on The Parade, said: "There are several worrying features about the processes surrounding the proposed redevelopment of 1 The Parade as an 82 bedroom Travelodge which suggest the concerns of Town residents are being marginalised and overlooked.

"This is a proposal which caused significant public opposition in its first incarnation 2 years ago, and the fact that this revised planning application was posted just as local schools broke up for the summer holidays causes concern.

"I am also concerned by the done deal aspect trumpeted by the developer's hand-out available at the public exhibition. It announces in bold red type that the 'proposed development meets with council requirements.' Doesn't that suggest public comment is irrelevant?"

Another Parade resident Nickie Roberts said: "The Parade in particular has been subjected to encroachment by commercial and health outlets for some time.

"When will this creeping commercialisation stop? Where is the boundary that protects residents from waking up in the middle of the town rather than on its edges?"

The public consultation period ends on August 19 and a decision is expected on September 23.

You can leave a comment about the proposal on the planning section of the council's website. The planning application reference number is 11/00353/FUL