'Significant Pigeon infestation' at Hilton hotel

It could cost £1.3m to sort out the pest infestation and water ingress inside the incomplete hotel

An unfinished Hilton hotel had been hit with a "pigeon infestation and water ingress", a council report said.

In 2017, Peterborough City Council borrowed £15m and loaned it to developers to build The Garden Inn Hotel at Fletton Quays. By 2020, the project had stalled, and the firm went bankrupt in 2023.

The local authority is now seeking a buyer for the unfinished hotel and hopes to recoup the investment.

According to cabinet report papers, there was water ingress on the south-east corner of the building, near the sky bar, and a "significant" pigeon infestation.

The Hilton hotel was meant to be part of the £120m Fletton Quays redevelopment

An investigation carried out on behalf of the council estimated it could cost £1.3m to bring it back from disrepair, including £140,000 for pest clearance and potential asset protection costs of £928,000.

The Garden Inn Hotel deal was fostered under the leadership of a former Conservative Councillor in 2017.

A rooftop bar and al fresco terrace overlooking the River Nene were included in the hotel design and were expected to be ready in 2019.

Eight years on, the 160-bedroom hotel remains unfinished and unoccupied, with major works pending, including lifts and gyms.

Peterborough City Council said "significant additional borrowing" would be needed for it to complete and operate the hotel, so its cabinet will be asked to approve selling the asset through administrators on 2 October.

Mohammed Jamil, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said: "The Hilton hotel project is one of a number of complex issues that were the making of previous administrations, which we have been working hard to seek to address."

Graffiti has appeared on boarding around the hotel

Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of the Conservative group in Peterborough, blamed the Covid pandemic for the failure of the project.

"A lot of people think it was me that authorised the signing of the hotel, it wasn't, but we have collective responsibility and the decision to do the deal was put to council and voted through," Fitzgerald said.

"Unfortunately, who knew something called Covid would come along, where the construction costs would skyrocket. The developer got into trouble with costs, which were not the council's fault."

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Christian Hogg, described the situation as an "unfortunate saga" and said disposal is the "best course of action for the council".