Planning Permission Granted to Redevelop Former Custom House and York Hotel in Cardiff City
30 Nov 2017
Developer Barola Properties has been granted planning permission to redevelop the former Custom House and York Hotel in Cardiff city centre into a £20m 20-storey Premier Inn Hotel. Designed by Holder Mathias Architects, the hotel will include 248-bedrooms and a “Bar & Block” and restaurant.
The ongoing regeneration of Cardiff has transformed the area into a lively centre for employment, leisure and living, as well as led to a positive rise in tourism that is driving the need for more hotel accommodation in the city.
Stephen Hill, Partner at Holder Mathias, said: “We have a vibrant city centre that attracts millions of visitors every year, and this is driving a growing need for more hotels. This new scheme is a significant opportunity to transform a very run-down piece of Cardiff’s historic urban fabric and bring it back into beneficial use while sustaining Cardiff’s reputation as a hotspot for tourism. Premier Inn is a universally recognised brand that we are proud to be working with locally, and we are united in our ambition to make this high-rise hotel a worthy addition to Cardiff’s skyline, while retaining the unique character of Custom House.”
As part of the design plans, the Grade II Listed Custom House will be sensitively redeveloped to retain its listed façades and period features while York Hotel will be demolished to make way for the new hotel. The vision for the scheme is premised on a desire to develop a high-quality tower that will complement Cardiff’s ring of tall buildings, while acting as a backdrop to the characterful Custom House building and giving it a renewed visual presence from street level.
Holder Mathias’s design for the Premier Inn Hotel uses a dark aluminium panel cladding system in combination with unique trapezoidal windows to create a geometric, rhythmic pattern across the entire envelope of the building whilst ensuring that the hotel is attractive in its own right and without detracting from its supporting role as a backdrop to the existing Custom House building.