LIVERPOOL council will consider plans that could see three brand new hotels open in the city centre.
Applications have been submitted for hotel and leisure developments in Dale Street, Stanley Street and Hanover Street.
If successful, the bids would see an extra 341 hotel rooms, with the largest development at Hanover Street including 183 rooms.
But the planned hotel in Dale Street – which would see the demolition of a row of buildings which until recently housed the Spar store – has raised objections from both Merseytravel and car park company NCP.
Merseytravel objected to the development of the 123-bed hotel with restaurant and bar on the grounds that it includes a 285-space multi-storey car park, which they say would have a negative impact on public transport.
NCP said they believed it would lead to “over-provision” of car parking and lead to a loss in available office space for the city.
But council leader Cllr Joe Anderson welcomed the news of the applications and further investment into the city.
Cllr Anderson said: “People tell me there’s not enough hotel space. I had a meeting with someone the other day who was saying you just can’t get a room.
“On the one hand, that’s good news, but it shows we need more and I think the city can sustain these hotels.”
But the Dale Street hotel plan, put forward by Belfast-based company FourTwoFour Ltd, initially prompted several objections, including from English Heritage, which argued it would “harm the character and appearance of the conservation area and the outstanding universal value, authenticity and integrity of the World Heritage Site”.
English Heritage withdrew its objections after design changes, but Merseytravel lodged a formal objection against the plan on several grounds, including that the hotel is directly adjacent to the route of the Merseytram scheme, and also because of the hotel’s proximity to the Mersey tunnels underneath.
But no objections were received to the plan for a hotel across seven storeys in the Kansas Building, in Stanley Street, which would include 35 bedrooms across four floors, a restaurant and bar.
The third hotel, a 183-bed development at Hanover Street, would occupy the vacant land next to the Hanover Hotel and the Tesco superstore.
Hotel occupancy in Liverpool soared following the Capital of Culture year, and the number of available rooms rose dramatically.
In 2006, there were 2,650 hotel rooms available, but by last year that figure had grown to 4,095.
Jack Stopforth, of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said he welcomed the new developments.
He added: “I always trust the markets and I don’t think these developers would be committing to coming to the area if they had not satisfied themselves there was demand for it.
“Existing operators could be concerned about preserving their market share but generally I think the city can sustain it.
“The main thing is that the private sector can make it pay.”
