Work set to start on new Birmingham city centre hotel

WORK is set to start converting a Birmingham city centre office block into a new hotel following planning consent for the scheme.

Planning and urban design consultancy Turley Associates, acting on behalf of Aviva Investors, is leading work on the project at the Exchange Building in Stephenson Place.

The former HSBC building on the New Street ramp will be reconstituted as a 139-bedroom Premier Inn.

Construction work is expected to start in September, with the hotel opening in June 2013.
 
The scheme will also see a financial contribution made by the hotel operator, whose parent is Whitbread, to either a work of public art or to the Birmingham City Council’s Wayfinder talking signpost scheme that helps partially sighted visitors find their way around the city centre.
 
Fran Rowley, Associate Director, Turley Associates Birmingham, said: “We are delighted by Birmingham City Council’s decision to allow this conversion to go ahead and that there is a committed end user in place which will enable the earliest delivery of this key city centre project.”
 
Julian Cobourne, Aviva Investors Real Estate Asset Manager, added: “Premier Inn is one of the UK and Ireland’s biggest and fastest growing hotel companies and is well known across both regions. This made it an obvious choice for the conversion of the vacant offices at the Exchange Buildings and we believe it will make a strong contribution to the existing local travel and leisure industry.”
 
John Bates, Head of Acquisitions (UK and Ireland), Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “This is a terrific decision for Birmingham city centre and for Whitbread. Exchange Buildings is a high profile site in the centre of Birmingham that has been redundant for some time and the Premier Inn will be a terrific asset for everyone.”

The development is expected to complement the refurbishment of New Street Station and is on the route of the new Metro extension through the city centre.

Turley Associates has also secured planning permission for a 175-bed Premier Inn in Bristol, a 108-bed Premier Inn in Bath and a further 82-bed Premier Inn in Leamington Spa.

How the new hotel will look.