Work set to start on £50m hotel as permission granted for student village

8:31am Wednesday 11th March 2009

By Jo Winrow

Developers behind a £50 million hotel and office complex in Bradford city centre are ready to start work immediately.

Permission was granted for the eye-catching project by Bradford Council planners yesterday.

McAleer & Rushe already has its contractors on the site at the corner of Thornton Road and Godwin Street. The final sign-off is now required by the Secretary of State and a legal agreement drawn up, before work can begin.

In a further boost to the city’s regeneration, planning permission was also granted yesterday for the £150m Listerhills Sustainable Student Village.

It will be built by Abu Dhabi company Mi7 Developments to provide accommodation for 1,000 students.

The offices in the McAleer & Rushe development will become the new headquarters for one of Bradford’s leading employers, Provident Financial, which is to relocate its 650 staff to the new development. There will also be a basement car park providing 200 spaces and 150 employees will receive Metrocards.

Stephen Davey, of the Northern Ireland construction and development company, said: “We’re delighted that permission has been granted for work to start on site. We are committed to delivering this landmark project in Bradford, as part of the high-profile regeneration taking place in the city.”

Mr Davey said the company had an “aggressive programme” which would see the hotel built in 14 months and the office in 17 months.

Conservation area consent was also granted to demolish the vacant four-storey buildings at 1-11 Godwin Street to make way for the development.

The design itself includes an impressive splayed corner at the main junction as well as natural stone and large amounts of glazing, particularly at street level. The hotel section of the development includes coloured “fins” at the windows to add interest.

Peter Crook, chief executive of Provident Financial, said: “We are delighted that planning permission for our new head office was granted, subject to approval of the Secretary of State.

“Provident has been based in Bradford since its foundation in 1880 and has thrived in the city. This news brings us a step closer to continuing that heritage and locating our head office in a fine new building right in the centre of the city.” Final approval is expected within 21 days.

Councillor Adrian Naylor, executive member for regeneration and economy at the Council, said: “This is a further boost for the city and yet more evidence that the private sector continues to realise the potential we have here in Bradford.

“The development by McAleer & Rushe is a building block in a wider masterplan, which will deliver a vibrant, modern city centre for Bradford.” The one acre site sits on the edge of the city’s £750m Learning Quarter development.

The new student village includes plans to transform the traditional academic area of the city which are already under way as demolition and refurbishment work has now started on the first three phases of the wider project.

This will create business innovation and managed workspace, academic and healthcare facilities and extensive public realm.

The Angel Way student accommodation part of the development includes six blocks of townhouses, one block of six-storey flats, and two blocks of seven-storey flats. The development is on the site of Velocity, formerly Bradford Innovation Centre, and discussions have been ongoing as to the relocation of the existing businesses.

It follows the decommissioning of student accommodation within the campus of Bradford University in recent years with 1,166 beds expected to be lost by 2010.