Building Briefs
YORKSHIRE developer Sterling Capitol and national hotel group Village Hotels have donated £50,000 to transform the Hesketh Lane playground in Tingley, Leeds, into a modern facility for the local community.
The money will enable the run-down playground to be completely redeveloped.
The playground itself has been located to a more central part of the recreational ground in order to reduce the impact on those living close by and to improve access.
Overall, the new playground will cost £140,000, with £90,000 coming from the Big Lottery Fund.
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THE Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank concluded hotel deals worth £54m in Yorkshire in 2007, according to the group’s UK Hotel Review.
The most notable transaction was the sale of the 99-bedroom Monkbar Hotel in York off a guide price of £13m by Leisurepoint to Shiva Hotels.
Knight Frank handled the sale of the historic Hazlewood Castle, near York, on behalf of owner Brian and Andrea Walker to Ashdale Hotels for an undisclosed sum.
Leigh Parsons, hotels partner in Leeds, commented: “Currently there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the property market in the region. Many commentators are predicting a fall in values across both residential and commercial sectors in the coming year.
“While the Yorkshire hotel property market is unlikely to avoid some turbulence, two factors remain which bode well for the sector. Firstly, demand exceeds supply for good quality hotels and secondly, funding is still available for suitable purchasers looking to buy appropriate properties. As a result of these trends, we do not currently foresee a significant decline in hotel values,” he said.
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SANDERSON Weatherall has won a major contract with Royal Mail, providing estate management services to the group’s property division across the North of England.
The contract will encompass services from the firm’s property management, landlord and tenant and planning teams across the Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and Teesside offices.
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THE first phase of a multi-million-pound scheme to significantly improve the original Victorian school house, sports facilities, parking and traffic flows at Harrogate’s Ashville College, has finished.
The work has not only seen the re-roofing of the building for the first time in 150 years and 14 classrooms refurbished, but also the installation of a state-of-the-art heating system which will significantly reduce fuel consumption.
The new system gives individual temperature control in each room from a computer in the main office. Another energy saving device is motion sensor lighting, which turns lights off when rooms are empty.
Ashville College Headmaster Andrew Fleck said: “This completion of the work marks another exciting phase in the school’s long history. We are due to start the next phase of development in the coming months, which includes the refurbishment of the library, as well as upgrading more classrooms.”
