Harrogate showground hotel goes ahead after planning U-turn

The four-story building, with 98 rooms and a car park, is scheduled to open in two-and-a-half years’ time, at a cost of around £10m.

Its developers announced yesterday that the project would go ahead, after a government inspector overturned Harrogate Council’s refusal to grant it planning permission.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which hosts commercial events at the showground, as well as the annual Great Yorkshire Show, supports the development, which, it said, would take its facilities “to the next level”.

The Leeds-based Parklane Property Group, which operates the Roomzzz brand of “aparthotels”, is behind the project. It has three similar hotels in Leeds and others in Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Chester.

Its rooms have holiday apartment-style kitchenettes to allow visitors to cook their own food.

The new hotel is to be built in an L-shape on a 1.3 acre site near the Sainsbury’s supermarket on Wetherby Road, which was once used for the annual hound show and is now a car park.

Harrogate planning officers had recommended it for approval last year but it was voted down by eight councillors on the planning committee who deemed its prominence and modern look inappropriate.

The council’s refusal notice said the hotel would have an “over-dominant effect” on its surroundings and “would be harmful to the character and spatial quality of the area, by reason of its scale, siting and design”.

But the planning inspector, Kay Sheffield, said that “given the distance the hotel would be set back from the road and the scale of its neighbours, it is not considered that it would be uncharacteristic of its surroundings”.

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the agricultural society, said he was “delighted” that permission had now been granted.

He said: “Roomzzz is the ideal hotel partner for us. The accommodation is ideal not just for visitors and tourists but also for the many exhibitors here.”

Mr Pulling said he understood the reservations from some neighbouring residents, who would not see a direct benefit from the development.

But he added: “The addition of 98 rooms for overnight accommodation will take us up to the next level.”

The development will include different sized apartments, from studios to penthouses, as well as a gym, coffee shop and meeting rooms.

Roomzzz says its hotels are targeted at businessmen and at groups of people celebrating birthdays and other events.

Its chief executive, Naveen Ahmed, said: “The typical Roomzzz guests are professionals and international guests who are looking for a longer term stay than a hotel can usually offer. We are confident that the Roomzzz aparthotel will be of huge benefit to tourism and the economy.”

He added: “The company was founded in Yorkshire, so we know Harrogate well and believe it is the ideal location to expand the Roomzzz brand.”

Coun Graham Swift, Harrogate Council’s cabinet member for economic development said he supported the planning inspector’s decision to allow the hotel.

He said: “We are aware that decisions made on planning issues can sometimes divide opinion, but the role of the planning inspector is important in determining whether a correct decision has been made.

“The creation of a new hotel will have a positive impact through the investment in our town and the jobs that will be created. A new hotel will also increase the availability of new, modern accommodation for all types of visitors to Harrogate.”

The showground is host to nearly 700 events throughout the year, including fairs, trade shows, conferences and wedding receptions. It hosts around half a million visitors each year, with its events said to generate £47m a year for the local economy.

Roomzzz, whose parent company also runs a student letting operation and owns Leeds Golf Centre at Moor Allerton, which it bought out of receivership six years ago, says it has a £75m development portfolio which also includes a new hotel in York.