CDP set for hotel approval
COMMERCIAL Development Projects is set to win planning approval for a 66-bed hotel above Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Manchester.
The business, a division of Elland-based construction group Marshall, wants to convert the upper floors of the grade II-listed former Midland Bank building in King Street into a five-star boutique hotel. The operator has not been named but London-based Bespoke Hotels is a likely contender.
The Sir Edwin Lutyens-designed building, which was latterly an HSBC, has been empty since 2008 apart from the restaurant which opened last year. The original plan was to turn the upper floors into office space.
The centrepiece of the hotel will be a two-storey restaurant on the first and second floors. There will also be bars on the seventh and eighth floors which will make use of the building’s outdoor balconies.
A document prepared by planning adviser Deloitte Real Estate says the unnamed hotelier owns 84 hotels in the UK and 97 worldwide, with a total of 2,500 rooms. Its interests range from a spa hotel in the Cotswolds to a luxury retreat on the Caribbean island of Grenada which has a helipad.
A hotel fitting this description is the Mount Hartman Bay Estate, which is owned by London-based Bespoke. The company was founded in 2000 and is owned by Haydn Fentum and Robin Sheppard. Bespoke is already active in Manchester with serviced apartments under the Staying Cool brand, and The Light aparthotel block near the Arndale Centre. In Yorkshire it operates The New Ellington in Leeds and the Sheffield Metropolitan.
A council document published ahead of the planning decision on Thursday recommends the scheme is approved. Council officers said: “The proposal would restore and revitalise an unoccupied and important heritage asset. The proposed hotel along with the associated food and drink uses would contribute positively to Manchester’s hotel and entertainment offer and would attract more visitors to the city.”
Meanwhile, Commercial Development Projects has won permission for 146 homes on a 12.5-acre site in the North West.
The business previously secured planning permission to convert a separate piece of land at Cheshire Business Park near Northwich to residential use following the slow-down in the take up of commercial property.
The application has been handled by Manchester-based planning consultancy HOW Planning.
Conor Vallelly, senior planner at HOW, said: “This is a positive outcome for our client and it is pleasing that members recognised that the site, being sustainably located within the urban area, has an important role to play in helping to address housing supply issues in the borough.
“This decision reflects the views of our community consultation exercise which showed a preference for the site to come forward for residential use.”
