HZT investments director and International Hotel Wagga hotelier Joel Berrigan last week gained development approval from councillors despite a number of objections and lengthy debate.

"I'm going for a modern style," Mr Berrigan told The Daily Advertiser.

"The guys (at Sewell Design) have done a really good job in the contemporary new look of the hotel.

"What we are looking for is very urban and new age, a fresh look and a fresh start."

In planning documents, the new $5.3 million hotel has been dubbed 'CBD on Main' but Mr Berrigan is in talks with major hotel chains that could lend their brand to the project ahead of construction.

Mr Berrigan said he was expecting customers from both the tourist and business markets and had signed contracts with corporations and government agencies that regularly send staff to Wagga.

Part of Mr Berrigan's sales pitch to Wagga councillors was on the economic benefits of adding more central hotel options.

Mr Berrigan said nearby CBD businesses should see a boost in trade as the Farmers Home pub gained more customers from the International Hotel opening on Hammond Avenue.

"There's $710 million that comes into Wagga from tourism and accommodation captures only 10 per cent of that, with $233 million going to food and beverage retail," he said.

"(The hotel) is going to enhance foot traffic and help the city grow."

The approved plans do not include a commercial kitchen.

"It's all about working with the other nearby businesses...it needs to be a cohesive CBD where people work together" Mr Berrigan said.

The new Forsyth Street hotel's maximum capacity will be 90 guests.

Some of the objections to the new hotel were based on a call to grant exemptions under the Development Control Plan for minimum car parks.

Some inner urban councils in Sydney and Melbourne are exploring whether they should relax long-standing requirements that planning applications set aside a certain number of parking spaces for new buildings.

"The way that people travel is changing," Mr Berrigan said.

"We are more of a destination-based hotel."

Mr Berrigan said council planning staff "should be credited for being flexible".

"It's really good to see that (councillors) are supporting young designers and I'm getting the opportunity to help the city grow," he said.

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