SEVENTY-FIVE new jobs could be created in Evesham if brewers Whitbread plc get the go-ahead to invest £2.5m in an edge of town hotel and restaurant facility.

The company has submitted plans for a restaurant, public house and 41 bedroom hotel on land next to the Esso filling station besides the Evesham bypass.

The site already has outline planning permission, gained by a former applicant some years ago.

Now Whitbread, the huge multi-national brewery chain, has stepped in and decided the time was right to invest in Evesham.

Acquisitions manager for the company, Paula Reed-Smith said: "The site is at a very good location beside the A46. Although there is some way to go yet before we obtain planning permission and licensing, the hotel and restaurant should provide up to 75 full and part time jobs for locals.

"If successful and the project fits into our current nation-wide programme, the development could start by the end of the year."

Agent for Whitbread, Tom Rocke of Robert Turley Associates in Bristol said: "Whitbread see the development as serving tourists and business people alike.

" It will also be good for Evesham, intercepting people travelling from Birmingham to the South West who might otherwise bypass the town.

"The hotel will provide rooms at reasonable prices for the business community, and pub customers who have a few drinks and cannot drive home."

Whitbread see the nearby Evesham Country Park, and petrol station as ideal partners in the bid to increase prosperity in the area.

Chairman of the Vale of Evesham Tourism Association, John Stych said: "The plans are wonderful news and in my view will do nothing but good for Evesham.

"I do not think the hotels in the town will be adversely affected as they have their own loyal clientele. We can't expect to have everything in the town centre and must move with the times."