George Hotel Tour and Talk
Sponsored by Bowman Riley, the Forum for the Built Environment (fbe) Leeds branch organised a site tour and talk on Tuesday, 29 November, at the George Hotel site in Huddersfield.
The George Hotel is an elegant 1851 landmark building with an Italianate façade designed by William Walker next to the railway station to meet the needs of the Victorian traveller.
Vacant since 2013, Kirklees Council purchased the Grade II* listed local landmark as a key part of their Station Gateway project and their 10-year vision for the regeneration of Huddersfield as identified in their Blueprint project.
Over 40 construction and property professionals booked onto the event. We gathered for networking and a hearty brunch in the Arcade café before the talk and site tour of the George Hotel. Representing Bowman Riley as the sponsor and a member of the fbe committee, Samantha Jevons welcomed guests. She introduced John Lambe from Kirklees Council and Helen Walker, our Head of Heritage, who both spoke passionately about the George and the pivotal role it will play in the future of Huddersfield.
We then all went onto the site to tour the lower floors of the interior and look externally at the repair work underway by the main contractor, William Birch and the Stone Masons, Mono Masonry.
Our role as architect and conservation architect has been to help bring this listed building back into use, prolong the life of the building fabric and enhance the significance of the external façade through the replacement of inappropriate interventions. We have subsequently been appointed to transform the building into a hotel working with Kirklees Council’s development partner, Queensberry and the hotel operator Radisson Red.
The feedback on the event has been very positive, with everyone gaining a greater insight into the repair work needed on this major historic landmark and the transformation needed to secure the building’s long-term future.
