A multi-million pound bid to build a hotel, which could create 45 full-time jobs, near Norwich International Airport has been revealed.
Plans for the £10m Hampton by Hilton hotel have been submitted to Norwich City Council for a site next to the currently in development Aviation Academy and it is hoped the two projects can help each other take off.
Located on Spitfire Road on the Norwich Airport Industrial Estate, the 125-bedroom project would be five minutes' walk from the main terminal, close to the proposed International Aviation Academy.
Simon Witts, chief executive of the Aviation Skills Partnership, said the new hotel would support the development and growth of the Aviation Academy.
'Having a hotel nearby means people have somewhere to stay while attending multi-day training courses,' he said.
'They will also need meeting rooms and facilities, so we are very supportive of the plans for the hotel.'
Staff from the hotel could be trained at the aviation academy in customer service, hospitality or management training, Mr Witts added.
Work began on the academy, which will support 500 students, back in May 2016.
Chris Starkie, chief executive of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said the move would compliment the investments already being made in the industrial estate. He said: 'There are a combination of things helping to regenerate the airport; the opening of the North Distributor Road, the investment in the Aviation Academy – which will help with training and securing employment on the site – as well as the plans by the city and county councils to regenerate the wider industrial estate which has huge potential to support jobs in a key part of Norwich.'
Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said it showed belief in Norwich's growth. Nova Fairbank, public affairs manager for the Chamber, said: 'The aviation academy is unique in Europe and if it is the success we all expect it to be we are going to need the infrastructure to accommodate it.
'This investment shows Norwich needs to be taken seriously with the amount of large companies coming here.'
If the hotel is given planning permission work is expected to begin this autumn and be finished in spring 2019.
Ingleton Wood said it hoped the project, alongside the skills academy, could help to regenerate the industrial estate.
Fiona Hunter, senior planner at Ingleton Wood, said: 'This significant investment by Hilton and Appleby Leisure is a real statement of confidence in Norwich and its airport.
'As a locally based practice, we are delighted to be involved in a project which will bring substantial benefits to our city.'
If the project successfully receives planning permission, work is expected to begin this autumn so that the hotel is ready for spring 2019.
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