Plans approved for Leeds Victoria Gate hotel

Leeds City Council has approved Hammerson's plans for a new 205-bedroom hotel adjacent to the Victoria Gate shopping centre.

Landlord Hammerson is in discussions with an international hotel brand to operate the hotel. The 14-storey property, a redevelopment of a car park site, will cater for business and leisure guests and offer an on-site gym and conferencing facilities, as well as a ground-floor bar and restaurant. The hotel is expected to create 50 full-time jobs when it opens.

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 12 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."

Friedrich Ludewig, director at architectural firm ACME, said: "We are pleased that planning permission has been granted for the Victoria Gate hotel. Hammerson and ACME have worked over the last decade to start the transformation of this part of the city centre, creating new links between existing commercial and cultural uses.

"The hotel is a key part of this strategy, creating a bookend opposite John Lewis and the Leeds Playhouse, closing the existing urban gap and creating a visual landmark for the area."