Plans approved for Leeds city centre hotel

Leeds City Council has approved plans for developer Hammerson to go ahead with a new 205-bed hotel adjacent to its retail and leisure destination, Victoria Gate.

The consent is said to represent another significant milestone in Hammerson’s City Quarters concept, and its plan to develop a vibrant mixed-use area to complement Leeds’ cultural quarter, driving additional footfall and spend to the city.

Hammerson said, City Quarters will create vibrant mixed-use neighbourhoods surrounding its existing flagship destinations. The concept will see Hammerson transform many of its city venues beyond pure retail into successful neighbourhoods providing homes, workspace, hotel rooms and public realm.

The Victoria Hotel site currently occupies a unique position within Leeds city centre, providing a link between the retail quarter to the west and the emerging cultural quarter to the east; home to the Leeds Playhouse, BBC studios, the Northern Ballet and Leeds City College.

Robin Dobson, UK Director of Development and Project Management at Hammerson said, “Delivering on our City Quarters concept is a key priority for Hammerson and this is our third planning consent in the last twelve months. Not only does this mark an important step in our wider plans to create a thriving new cultural quarter in Leeds city centre, it also demonstrates progress in our wider strategy to support our existing assets by moving beyond pure retail.”