Major chain lined up to run new Leeds city hotel

Developers say the scheme would respect the surrounding architecture

Plans to build a new hotel next to Kirkgate Market in Leeds city centre look set to be approved, with a major chain lined up to run the venture.

Leeds City Council has struck a deal with Whitbread, the operator of Premier Inn, which would run the 143-bed hotel on George Street if it gets the go-ahead.

The site is currently occupied by a row of vacant shops, which would be demolished to make way for the new hotel.

The council's deputy leader said the scheme, which has been recommended for approval by planning officers, would deliver "quality and good value".

The new development would respect the character of the Grade I-listed market and surrounding architecture, the authority said previously.

In a report published ahead of a meeting of the City Plans Panel on Thursday 30 November, planning officers said the scheme was "an opportunity to continue the positive regeneration" of the eastern part of Leeds city centre.

Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council deputy leader, added: "The new development would provide a much-improved connection between the market and Victoria Gate, while also acting as an attractive linking point in the wider flow of the city centre from Vicar Lane towards the Eastgate roundabout and Quarry Hill."

Councillors are due to vote on whether or not to approve the plans next week

The development, which is expected to cost £14m if approved, comes two years after planning permission for a similar scheme at the site lapsed.

The Covid pandemic was blamed for halting the progress of those plans, which had been approved in 2018.

Paul Smith, acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said the new scheme would "generate a multi-million pound boost to the local economy".

He added that it would "help to support the many established and independent businesses in the market and elsewhere across Leeds city centre".

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