'Unviable' George Hotel to be remodelled and expanded, ending hopes for Rugby League museum

The disclosure follows the leaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) of an options appraisal in which consultants told the authority the existing 60-room building was “commercially unviable” as a hotel.

The cost of refurbishment was estimated to be £7.9m – more than £100,000 per bedroom in development costs.

Developing offices was estimated to cost £6.5m.

Now senior figures have revealed that the council is moving ahead with plans to resurrect the George – the birthplace in 1895 of rugby league – as a hotel.

That means the partnership with the Rugby League to accommodate a national museum dedicated to the sport appears to be dead in the water.

The options appraisal was drawn up by Leeds-based consultants Faithful+Gould and included a viability study by Avison Young.

It spelt out in stark terms that whilst there was “market opportunity” in Huddersfield for both a mid-range hotel and flexible office accommodation, both options were considered commercially unviable.

The report, dated November 2020, came five months after the council paid out £1.8m to buy the partly derelict George, which was built in the 1850s.

The council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration, Councillor Peter McBride, confirmed the authority’s stance.

He said: “The hotel operator market requires a 90+ bed hotel with modern hotel requirements, for which there is appetite and we are developing plans for how we maximise the use of space in the building.”

He said the consultants’ report had “confirmed our view” that a 60-bed hotel was not viable and that a business case would be brought to Cabinet over the summer.

Coun McBride’s comments come a week after Council Leader Shabir Pandor said he would take legal advice before confirming whether the authority had a business case for buying the George in 2020.

That question was asked by the Conservatives’ John Taylor who said he was “shocked but not surprised” that the council had paid “over the odds” for the building.

He added: “Dabbling in property, buying up property without a clear understanding of how to make it viable, is a recipe for disaster.”

He called for a scrutiny debate to determine the further costs involved in turning the building around.

“How much will it cost to gut the building and create 90 rooms where before there were only 60?

“If Councillor Pandor is true to his word about wanting to be open and transparent he will support this call. If he does not it suggests that there are more problems lurking that he is trying to keep hidden.”

Leading Green councillor Andrew Cooper, whose Newsome ward includes Huddersfield town centre, said there remained a lack of clarity over why the rugby league museum was considered unviable.

He said: “The council is providing us only with the decisions they have made but yet again have not made the business case visible to councillors outside the Labour Cabinet.

“How is it that at this late stage they are radically adjusting their plans? It doesn’t inspire confidence.”