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(12/12/23)
 Plans for a new hotel and gym on the George
Street side of the historic Grade I listed Kirkgate Market
building in Leeds, England have been given the green light by the council’s
city plans panel.

Construction is expected to commence next
year, with the council having already signed a
pre-let lease with Whitbread for a Premier Inn hotel.

The development will also include a council-run
public gym.

The
transformation of the George Street site will, it is hoped,
provide another notable success story for an area that has
undergone significant and positive changes in recent years and is
today home to landmarks such as the Victoria Gate retail
destination, the refurbished Leeds Playhouse and Leeds City
College’s Quarry Hill campus.

Whitbread has signed a Premier Inn hotel in the historic Kirkgate Market Area of Leeds, England

The scheme has also been
designed to drive additional footfall to the market, where
business has already been boosted by a multi-million pound investment programme.

“The plans panel’s support for the
George Street scheme represents another important milestone in the
regeneration of the area around Leeds Kirkgate Market and beyond. Leeds city centre is already a vibrant, attractive place to
visit, but we want to make it even better – and the new hotel will
help us achieve that aim, providing a stylish linking point
between Vicar Lane, the Eastgate roundabout and Quarry Hill,” said Councillor
Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive
member for economy, culture and education. “The scheme also underlines our commitment to ensuring the
market retains its position as one of the jewels in the city’s
retail crown.”

The site earmarked for the six-storey George
Street development is owned by the council and is currently
occupied by a number of vacant low-rise shop units.

The
hotel will fill the top five floors of the new building and will
feature 143 rooms as well as a bar and restaurant.

The
ground floor will feature a range of commercial units
and the aforementioned council-run gym.

The hotel will create approximately
50 new full and part-time jobs locally once operational, with
around 80 jobs being supported during construction.

“We are extremely proud to have been named as the
operator of the George Street hotel,” said Paul Smith,
acquisitions manager for Premier Inn owner Whitbread. “The
location ticks so many boxes for Premier Inn customers and I know
our guests will give a lot back to the area once we are open.”

Other
recent improvements and support delivered at the market by the
council include:

– A comprehensive programme of ongoing work
to repair, conserve and enhance the 1875 ‘blockshops’, the oldest
surviving structures on the site; The provision of more than
£1.4m worth of rent concessions to help traders cope with the
financial effects of the pandemic;

– The creation of the popular Market Kitchen
street food hall and event space during a £14m refurbishment
scheme in 2016; and

– The council is also currently
considering the potential for bringing a ‘container-style’ food
village to part of the market’s outdoor site, with a view to
boosting footfall for traders based in that area.

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