THREE new hotels near Ipswich Waterfront will go ahead despite concerns about the state of the economy, The Evening Star can reveal today.As a result of falling house prices and the threat of recession, many firms are pulling the plug on large scale projects although developers Braceforce maintain work will start at the St Peter's Port complex in the near future.

THREE new hotels near Ipswich Waterfront will go ahead despite concerns about the state of the economy, The Evening Star can reveal today.

As a result of falling house prices and the threat of recession, many firms are pulling the plug on large scale projects although developers Braceforce maintain work will start at the St Peter's Port complex in the near future.

The ambitious development already has a number of big names signed up including Accor, Europe's largest hotel group, which has committed to a 165-room Etap hotel, while Whitbread has agreed terms on a 117-room Premier Travel Inn.

A mystery hotel group has also agreed to provide a New York-style boutique hotel with 85 rooms.

Maxwell Hembry, director at Braceforce, said final details on the scheme are being ironed out prior to several months of archaeological work getting underway by the end of the year.

“Any speculative commercial development in this market is very difficult, if not impossible to finance, but we have already got parties signed up and on board for the project,” Mr Hembry said.

“We are working with our engineers to fine tune the whole thing and we have got a contractor on board so it is really a question of getting on site within the next couple of months and starting the project.

“The archaeology will take about six months but we can phase certain parts of work around it.

“Things are progressing but obviously in the times we are in things take a bit longer than say three years ago.”

Plans for the development have already gone before town chiefs although formal permission for the complex has yet to be granted.

The green light was held up when central government opted last year to scrutinise the proposals but eventually decided the application did not need to be “called in” for a formal review.

Mr Hembry said the formal nod is likely to be given by town chiefs within a matter of weeks once final details have been ironed out.

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