Leeds City Council has given the go-ahead to Hammerson’s plans for a new 205-bed hotel at its City Quarters concept
The approval signifies another key milestone in Hammerson’s City Quarters concept, and its plan to develop a mixed-use area to complement Leeds cultural quarter.
The Victoria Hotel site currently occupies a unique position within Leeds city centre, providing a link between the retail quarter to the west and the emerging cultural quarter to the east. The new hotel will enhance both the daytime and evening economies, meeting the need for a high-quality hotel, restaurant and bar in this part of the city centre whilst providing an anchor for those looking to enjoy the city’s vibrant retail, leisure and growing cultural offer.
The Victoria Gate Hotel is one of the first schemes Hammerson has brought forward as part of its new City Quarters concept.
The concept will see Hammerson transform many of its city venues beyond retail into successful neighbourhoods providing homes, workspace, hotel space and accessible public realm.
Robin Dobson, UK director of development and project management at Hammerson, said: “Delivering on our City Quarters concept is a key priority for Hammerson and this is our third planning consent in the last twelve months.
“Not only does this mark an important step in our wider plans to create a thriving new cultural quarter in Leeds City Centre, it also demonstrates progress in our wider strategy to support our existing assets by moving beyond pure retail.”
Hammerson expects that the Victoria Gate Hotel scheme to support up to 980 construction jobs over the life of the project with the hotel supporting 50 full-time jobs on-site upon completion.
City Quarters – Birmingham
This latest announcement follows confirmation that the group’s mixed-use masterplan for Birmingham city centre, Martineau Galleries, also received consent this week.
The City Quarters project Martineau Galleries will renovate a currently underutilised site in the centre of Birmingham into a thriving new neighbourhood, providing homes, workspace, hotel rooms and a new town square.
Consent for a new residential development adjacent to Dundrum in Dublin was also given the green light in December.
