Savills : obtains planning permission for change of use to hotel on High Holborn

The scheme will repurpose the old, circa 35,000 sq ft office building through a change of use, taking a retrofit first approach to deliver a new 105-bed Point A hotel on High Holborn in the heart of Midtown. The scheme will activate the ground floor through the provision of a café/co-working space, a bar, and lounge area at the ground floor, maintaining the key active frontage along High Holborn.

Proposals will also improve the streetscape through improving the arrival experience for users and maintain the building's design to preserve its relationship to the Bloomsbury Conservation Area.

The redevelopment will improve the building's sustainability credentials and takes a retrofit approach by reusing the existing building, providing a 44% reduction in carbon through the provision of PV panels, green/blue roofs, and Air Source Heat Pumps. The building is also on track to achieve BREEAM Excellent.

With Savills collaboration supporting the application, the Economics team justified the loss of office accommodation and demonstrated the wider economic benefits of the scheme. Further, Savills Viability supported the application by evidencing that a redeveloped office scheme would be unviable, whereas a hotel-led scheme was deliverable.

Iain Buzza, Director in Savills London Planning team, commented: "We are delighted to have secured this permission with Queensway in collaboration with the London Borough of Camden. We look forward to helping deliver a new hotel in the heart of Midtown to secure a long-term future for the underutilised building and contribute towards the function of the CAZ."