Plans to redevelop the historic George Hotel in Huddersfield are set to go ahead despite the cost of the project spiralling by almost 50 per cent over the past two years.
The restoration of the Grade II-listed building, known as the birthplace of rugby league, is a key part of a £250m scheme to regenerate the town centre.
Morgan Sindall was originally selected by Kirklees Council to carry out the work under a preconstruction services agreement, after planning permission for a 91-room scheme was granted in 2022.
However, the deal broke down after the fixed price proposed by the contractor was deemed unaffordable, with the council saying the two parties were “unable to agree a way forward”.
Initially, the cost of the scheme was projected to be £20.2m, but that figure has now reached £30m, according to a report to be discussed by councillors next week (5 November).
The council approached an unnamed alternative contractor with “extensive hotel experience” to review the costs.
Its revised plan would see the number of rooms in the hotel increase to 108. A more efficient floor layout, with the removal of a planned atrium area, would allow accommodation to be moved to the ground floor, according to the council.
Although the redesign will require a new planning application and listed building consent, the council said it expected the extra time needed would be offset by a shorter construction programme.
Work is now due to start next year, with the project due for completion in 2027 – 18 months after the hotel had originally been expected to reopen.
According to the report, the cost of the development rose by £3m after surveys uncovered asbestos in the basement and the historical underpinning of a facade, the retention of which also gave rise to “buildability and risk factors”.
In addition, construction costs have risen by around 18 per cent over the past three years, it said.
“It should be noted that the price provided by the contractor is still at an estimate stage, however, the contractor and project team are confident, based on the current information available, that the hotel can be delivered for this revised cost,” it said.
“Design work needs to be progressed to focus on the basement redesign and the changes to the atrium, and once ground investigations, following the asbestos removal, are complete the fixed price will be confirmed.”
The report said that, despite rising costs, the development of the site as a hotel was “the best and most viable option”.
The council added: “Its renovation and re-use as a quality hotel will be a mark of the positive progress being made to change the town centre and will be a significant confidence boost for other future investors.”
It warned that if work did not go ahead, it was likely that the building would remain vacant and unoccupied.
“This will not only mean that the economic benefits are not realised but the council will have incurred substantial costs to date and will need to fund the [£4.6m] costs associated with mothballing and the ongoing building preservation costs [of £100,000 per year],” it said.
