by Vivienne Nicoll, Evening Times
A £13 million hotel with over 200 rooms is planned for Glasgow
city centre.
Hamilton-based North Ltd today was given the go-ahead for an
eight storey hotel overlooking St Enoch Square with shops at ground
floor level.
The site, on the corner of Howard Street and Dixon Street, in
the heart of the central conservation area, is presently occupied
by a three storey, 1970s flat roof property.
The top floors, which have been lying empty for years, were once
home to Irish airline Aer Lingus while the ground floor is a
Somerfield supermarket.
North Ltd. wants to demolish the existing building and replace
it with a hotel with 229 rooms which will rise from seven storeys
at its eastern end to eight storeys on Howard Street.
The rear of the building will face on to the historic Custom
House in Clyde Street.
Steve Inch, executive director of development and regeneration,
said of the new hotel: "The rear elevation, which rises as a
backdrop to Custom House, is formed in a simple, grey coloured
metal cladding and is intentionally kept as unfussy as possible so
as not to compete with the setting of Custom House.
"The site is located within the St Enoch area and the proposed
hotel development will make a positive contribution to it in terms
of regeneration, mix of uses and overall commercial vitality."
Ed Griffin, project architect with London-based architects
Farrell and Clark, said: "It is a wonderful location overlooking St
Enoch Square and the developer hopes to have the hotel open in time
for the 2014 Commonwealth Games."