Kirklees seeks further George Hotel spend
Already allocated £20.2m, a further £9.8m is sought to bankroll the redevelopment of the listed Huddersfield landmark.
Changes made to the consented project in order to drive down costs have led to a redesign which will need to go through planning once more. All being well, this could be signed off in spring 2025, with work starting in summer and completing in 2027.
In an item that goes before Kirklees Council’s cabinet on Tuesday 5 November, council officers make the case for reallocating funds from the wider Our Cultural Heart project, due to the estimated project cost climbing to £30m.
A key part of the Huddersfield Blueprint, the George Hotel, in the words of officers, “remains a catalytic project with the potential to transform both visitor and investor perceptions of Huddersfield town centre. Without council investment, the building will remain unoccupied and deteriorate over time.”
Radisson Red is lined up as operator.
The report to cabinet seeks sign-off for the project to begin in earnest, seeking authority for the portfolio holder for regeneration in consultation with the executive director for place, director for finance, and director for legal to sign off the final design and appoint a contractor, as well as making changes to the hotel management agreement.
Not uncommonly in such reports, the point is made that the process is already well under way, and to pull back would not only result in the loss of the economic benefits of a blue-chip project, but mean zero payback for costs already committed.
Around £2.3m in grant funding could be clawed back should the project not be realised, while the work done so far, combined with the cost of safely mothballing the building, would amount to £4.6m, along with an annual £100,000 going forward to cover maintenance.
Close to Huddersfield station, the hotel is known as the birthplace of rugby league, but has been closed and vacant since 2013. It was acquired by the local authority in August 2020.
The project is a classic case of a council trying to raise the bar to encourage further investment, bringing a modern, well-recognised brand with a good food & beverage offer and conferencing to the town.
This would be the first Radisson Red site in Yorkshire and the Humber – a Radisson Blu opened in Sheffield this year – and, said officers, will “complement the council’s investment in new and upgraded cultural facilities through the ‘Our Cultural Heart’ project and realise spillover benefits for the town’s hospitality sector.”
The report notes that with efforts being made to bring costs down, a simplified design has now been produced, which would mean the hotel having 108 bedrooms, up from 91. Changes include cutting basement works, moving proposed uses here to the previously proposed atrium space.
Morgan Sindall had signed a pre-contract service agreement in summer 2023, but according to the cabinet report, agreement was unable to be reached for delivery at the fixed price proposed by Kirklees.
An alternative contractor was sought, with the process leading the council to conclude that the scheme cannot be delivered for les than £30m.
