Shiva Hotels has secured planning consent for a 191-room hotel on Holborn Viaduct at the current site of Morley House, EC1.
Designed by Eric Parry Architects, the 10-storey 120,000 sq ft hotel will include a bar and restaurant. The plans also include the bottom two floors of neighbouring City Temple church to be leased by Morley House’s owners for flexible office use, adding to the service offer of the hotel and securing the long-term future of the church.
The surrounding area is largely offices with Hogan Lovells and Amazon’s headquarters located in the buildings directly opposite Morley House. The site behind the property is being redeveloped as the new Goldman Sachs HQ building.
Shiva Hotels acquired Morley House from The Crown Estate for £40m in 2014.
The planning application is the second hotel approved in the City of London this year. There are now 35 hotels in the City, with a further 14 under construction and three permitted sites yet to begin construction.
Hotel stock in the City has risen in recent years from 3,780 rooms to more than 5,000 rooms between 2011/12 and 2016/17. By 2023/24 the City is projected to have 7,800 hotel rooms.
Chris Hayward, chairman of the planning & transportation committee at the City of London Corporation, said: “The City of London is a changing business environment and we are committed to supporting the growth of financial and professional services.
“With an additional 1.25m sq m (13.4m sq ft) of office space under construction, we have the potential to accommodate a further 75,000 workers. But we also need to make sure that there is sufficient accommodation across the City on offer.
“We have also recently approved student accommodation in the City, helping London to remain competitive with education providers globally.
“City Temple is falling into disrepair. This development demonstrates the benefits of mixed-use developments and how the City is uniquely able to combine culture and heritage with the modern needs of our visitors and workers.”
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