Commercial Property News

Puma  Hotels plc  has secured  planning consent  for the  development of  a 107 bedroom lodge hotel, which was granted by Harrogate Borough Council.
 
The  hotel will be directly linked into a new 3,400sqm exhibition facility which is  to be built as part of the first phase in the redevelopment of the Harrogate International Centre (HIC).
 
The building plans will also provide improved access into HIC from the four star 170 bedroom  Barcelo Majestic Hotel, also owned by  Puma Hotels, for which a planning consent already exists to extend the hotel by a further 85 bedrooms.
 
Howard  Shore, Chairman of Puma  Hotels plc, commented: "We  are delighted to be involved  in the future development of the Harrogate International Centre and to be providing such extensive hotel accommodation in the heart of Harrogate."

The HIC redevelopment plans have been criticised by CABE for not offering sufficient public space or a coherent integration of Town and HIC.

The £48million HIC redevelopment will add 17,222 sq ft of exhibition space on the site of the present Holiday Inn car park, as first phase in the process, which will see a new £34 million main auditorium. The Holiday Inn and the centre are effectively doing a swap to facilitate the new hall. The hotel will be given new facilities within the centre's existing "green" car park. The spaces will have direct lift access to the hotel.

Harrogate is third in the national league table, based on visitor spending, of conference and exhibition venues and attracts 350,000 people, who bring an estimated £150million into the economy.