‘Blot’ slur for 22-storey riverside tower

International hotel chain Radisson Blu will run the 200-room hotel, tower and top floor “sky bar” on the site on High Street once occupied by the John Good & Sons Ltd office buildings.

The scheme is the latest in a series of plans, including an apartment building and hotel, which have gained planning permission over the past eight years, but failed to materialise.

The tower - which would be seen for miles around - has its critics, including English Heritage, who say it will have a “harmful” impact on surroundings - which include medieval Holy Trinity Church.

Neighbours in the Trinity Wharf apartments say it will block their sunlight and describe the tower, which is 60ft higher than an earlier plan, as “a blot on the historic landscape.”

The first floor would consist of a 1,000-seat conference centre, and the uppermost two floors would be brightly lit, acting as a “beacon.”

Planners support the proposals saying it would present a “landmark building in a prominent location.”

If approved, developers say it would create more than 500 temporary jobs during construction and 150 permanent jobs.

Constructing the hotel has been estimated to be worth £71m to the local economy while tourism, conferences and room rentals could reap in the region of £10m a year.

Tim Fulstow, a partner in Trinity Quays LLP, which is developing the site, and who hails from the city’s Longhill estate said: “Do people just want it to be left a wasteland doing nothing or do they want to create something?

“Are we going to invest our way out of this mess?

“What I am trying to create is new business in Hull. I want people on Bilton Grange and Longhill to come here and get a job.”