Green light for city five-star hotel

PLANS to give Sheffield its first 5-star hotel in a major £38m development have been recommended by city planning officers.

The 198-room Crowne Plaza Hotel is one of the key features of the plans which will also include a 161-room Express by Holiday Inn hotel and the creation of a selection of restaurant outlets in the nine arches beneath the city's Victoria Station Road.

The project, set to boost the number of hotel beds available in the city by 18 per cent, has been developed by a local company Beck Conroy Consulting, which owns and operates the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria in Sheffield.

The development, which will bring 100 new jobs to the city, will help Sheffield compete for quality conference business.

Officers are recommending conditional planning permission for the new hotels which will be built on the Smithfield site on a car park adjacent to the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria on the opposite side of the inner relief road. The site also borders the River Don and Victoria Station Road.

The project is enhanced by a footbridge connecting the rapidly changing north and south banks of the River Don, to complete the Victoria Quay's corridor.

Beck Conroy Consulting has invited councillors and stakeholders and the public to view images of the development at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria on Friday from 1pm to 6pm.

Hermann Beck, managing director of Beck Conroy Consulting, said: “This is fantastic news and a further step towards turning this dream for Sheffield into reality. It is a very exciting time and now we are looking forward to taking these plans forward to help put Sheffield well and truly on the map as a key conference and tourism destination venue.”

The city's council's planning board meets on Monday, December 3 to formally decide on the application.