TWO chains who could open Didcot’s first hotel opposite the town’s railway station have been named in a new report.

Abingdon-based developer Cranbourne Homes has planning permission to build 72 flats opposite Didcot Parkway station.

But in the summer South Oxfordshire District Council urged the developer to consider instead a hotel for the key development site in Station Road.

Now it has emerged in a report commissioned by SODC that two chains have been picked out by Cranbourne Homes to operate the new hotel.

At the moment, the only hotel on offer for people visiting the Didcot area is the 84-bedroom Premier Inn at the Milton Interchange.

The report, by consultants AECOM, outlines economic opportunities linked to the creation of the Science Vale UK Enterprise Zone, which features Harwell Oxford science park and Milton Park near Didcot.

The report says: “Cranbourne has identified two potential occupiers for the redevelopment of their site, including both budget and luxury hotel operators.

“Comfort Inn, for example, are interested in a 50-bed hotel.

“However, they would expect to have complementary A3 uses nearby such as a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“On the higher end of the quality scale, Legacy are a hotel operator who have also registered interest in the Cranbourne site.

“Legacy Hotels are a group of individual hotels situated across the UK and looking to expand.

“Although the hotels in the groups are all different, they are perceived to be at the higher end of the boutique spectrum.”

South Oxfordshire District Council says a new hotel is a crucial part of its masterplan for the redevelopment of the site opposite Didcot Parkway.