PLANNING permission has been granted by Nottingham City Council for the highly anticipated multi-million-pound development of Nottingham’s Guildhall, which brings the currently vacant building into its next lifetime and will create more than 250 jobs for the city. The planning application was submitted by a joint venture between Locksley Hotels
PLANNING has been submitted by a joint venture between Locksley Hotels Ltd and hotel group Ascena for the centrepiece of the much anticipated multi-million-pound Guildhall development in Nottingham, which will create more than 250 jobs for the city. Originally built in 1887, the Guildhall has hosted a magistrates’ court, police
ASCENA has been named as the hotel operator at the much-anticipated £120 million Guildhall development in Nottingham. Ascena will bring a 160-bed four-star hotel offering to the city which will include a rooftop fine dining restaurant, spa and wedding and conference facilities. The scheme will be submitted for detailed planning
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
PLANNING permission has been granted by Nottingham City Council for the highly anticipated multi-million-pound development of Nottingham’s Guildhall, which brings the currently vacant building into its next lifetime and will create more than 250 jobs for the city. The planning application was submitted by a joint venture between Locksley Hotels Ltd and hotel group Ascena in May 2020, detailing plans for a 162-bed, four-star hotel, which will include a rooftop fine dining restaurant, spa and wedding and conference facilities. The hotel will house luxury rooms and existing courtrooms in the building will be converted into bar and restaurant facilities, retaining the original listed features. The modern extension to the northern elevation of the existing building will also utilise high-grade materials to give a nod to Nottingham’s lace heritage in its design. John Wilby, project lead for Ascena, said: “Having most recently housed the city council’s offices, Nottingham’s Guildhall is an iconic building in the city centre, which has hosted a magistrates’ court, police station and fire station since it was built in 1887. After it has sat vacant for the best part of a decade, we’re pleased to have hit this significant milestone in breathing new life into it. The development will not only bring jobs to the area but will also help elevate the city as a tourist destination.” The Guildhall building itself will house the hotel following a sensitive restoration of the Grade II listed building and Fire Station House, while more modern extensions at the back of the building will be demolished and rebuilt. Jack Turton, director of Ascena, said: “We have been working closely with our heritage consultant Turley and Historic England to ensure that this iconic building is brought back to its former glory. As well as this, an existing latter-day extension to the northern elevation of the Guildhall will be demolished and rebuilt. “We’re thrilled to have been working in close collaboration with the city council to help bring its former home to life, and now that planning consent has been granted we hope to begin work on site in the coming months.” Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “I’m very pleased that these exciting proposals to turn Nottingham’s Guildhall into a high-quality hotel have been given the go ahead. It’s something we have been keen to happen for a long time and our planning officers have worked with the developers to help them shape a development which respects the history of this grand old building and bring it back into use. “The mixture of uses on the rest of the site will help to reinvigorate this part of the city centre at a time when new developments and the jobs they bring are very welcome indeed. “This investment in the city shows ongoing confidence in Nottingham and will complement other schemes that are transforming the city centre into a new destination for residents, businesses and visitors.” Ascena owns and runs a number of luxury hotel and restaurant facilities around the UK, one of which is the Birmingham restaurant Opheem – one of only ten Indian restaurants in the UK to achieve a Michelin star – which is run by Ascena business partner Aktar Islam. Aktar, who is a former winner of The Great British Menu and The F Word, will be running the rooftop restaurant of the Guildhall development.
PLANNING has been submitted by a joint venture between Locksley Hotels Ltd and hotel group Ascena for the centrepiece of the much anticipated multi-million-pound Guildhall development in Nottingham, which will create more than 250 jobs for the city. Originally built in 1887, the Guildhall has hosted a magistrates’ court, police station and fire station during its history. The planning application submitted by Ascena and architects RPS Design Group reveals a 162-bed, four-star hotel, which will include a rooftop fine dining restaurant, spa and wedding and conference facilities to bring the building into its next lifetime. John Wilby, project lead for Ascena, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have now submitted planning for the exciting development of one of Nottingham’s most iconic buildings and we hope, all things being well, that work on the site will commence later this year. “It is a landmark development for the city and a key destination for people across the East Midlands. Following close work with heritage consultants Turley and Historic England, we’ve ensured that the plans submitted will see a sensitive restoration of the Grade II listed building. The Guildhall is an amazing building and we are naturally delighted to be working with the city council.” The development will house larger than average (28 square metre) luxury hotel rooms and existing courtrooms in the building will be converted into bar and restaurant facilities, retaining the original listed features. The designs for the modern extension to the northern elevation of the existing building will also utilise high-grade materials to give a nod to Nottingham’s lace heritage. The Guildhall building itself will house the hotel, while more modern extensions at the back of the building would be demolished and rebuilt. Jack Turton, director for Ascena, added: “With the building sitting derelict for the best part of a decade, we’re absolutely thrilled to be working with the city council in taking steps towards bringing this iconic Nottingham building back to life – it’s been a long time coming!” City Council Leader, Councillor David Mellen, said: “This is a site that we have long been keen to see developed with a mix of uses, including a high-quality hotel within the main Guildhall building itself. We therefore welcome the fact that a developer is putting forward proposals which could reinvigorate this prime city centre site. “The Guildhall is one of Nottingham’s most distinguished buildings and there has been a great deal of interest in what its future holds. The proposal for a high quality, sensitively restored hotel is an appealing prospect as we continue to transform the city centre into a new destination for residents, businesses and visitors. “It shows ongoing confidence in Nottingham as a city to invest in even during the coronavirus crisis and would complement our wider ambitions for the city’s growth.” Ascena owns and runs a number of luxury hotel and restaurant facilities around the UK, one of which is the Birmingham restaurant Opheem – one of only ten Indian restaurants in the UK to achieve a Michelin star. Opheem which is run by Ascena business partner Aktar Islam. Aktar, who is a former winner of The Great British Menu and The F Word, will be running the rooftop restaurant of the Guildhall development.
ASCENA has been named as the hotel operator at the much-anticipated £120 million Guildhall development in Nottingham. Ascena will bring a 160-bed four-star hotel offering to the city which will include a rooftop fine dining restaurant, spa and wedding and conference facilities. The scheme will be submitted for detailed planning over the next few weeks. Ascena has been working over the past few months to bring forward the redevelopment of the listed Guildhall. John Wilby, project lead for Ascena, said: “We are delighted that this scheme has taken a significant step forward. We will soon be submitting the development for planning and it is likely that all being well, that work will start on site in autumn 2020. “It is a landmark development for the city and a key destination for people across the East Midlands. The Guildhall is an amazing building and we are naturally delighted to be working the city council.” There will be sensitive restoration of the Grade II listed Nottingham Guildhall – the city’s former magistrates’ court – and Fire Station House, he added. “There will be a new lightweight extension to the northern elevation of the existing Guildhall to replace an unsightly latter-day extension,” John said. “We will be utilising high-grade materials and are working closely with our heritage consultant Turley and Historic England to ensure that this listed building is brought back to its former glory.” Ascena owns and runs a number of luxury hotel and restaurant facilities in Birmingham and the south West, one of which is the Birmingham Michelin starred restaurant Opheem – which is run by Ascena business partner Aktar Islam. Aktar, who is a former winner of The Great British Menu and The F Word, will be running the rooftop restaurant. The existing courtrooms will be sympathetically converted to bar and restaurant facilities, retaining many of the original key listed features. There will be a rooftop bar and restaurant to the new build extension incorporating Fire Station House. The Guildhall building itself will house the hotel, while more modern extensions at the back of the building would be demolished and rebuilt. The remaining part of the site, including the old fire and police stations, are subject to a mixed-use redevelopment which will be announced soon. Following detailed planning approval, it is likely that work will start on the hotel in autumn 2020. Since it was built in 1887, it has hosted a magistrates’ court, police station, and fire station. Nottingham City Council was based at the building between 1996 and 2010, until it moved to new offices in Loxley House. There will be a public exhibition on Monday 2 December at 38 Carrington Street from 3pm to 7pm when it will be possible to see images of the development and meet with the project team.
