HERITAGE watchdogs have given approval on the £30 million development scheme to bring Birmingham’s most iconic hotel back to its former glory. Plans have been submitted to re-open a fully refurbished Grand Hotel in Colmore Row with 166 bedrooms and 8 rooftop suites. Great news for all suppliers.
Members of the city council’s Conservation and Heritage Panel gave the ambitious scheme their approval, saying the proposals were “amazing” and would be an “asset to Birmingham’s social life”.
After closing back in 2002 the property owners, Hortons Estates, have looked at several schemes to bring it back into use, until now all have been rejected. The Grand Hotel stands eight storeys high and dates back to between 1879 and 1895. Its banqueting suite was described by Poet Laureate and noted architect John Betjeman as “magnificent”.
At one point it faced demolition but last year, after a campaign by the Victorian Society got listed status, although it still remains on English Heritage’s At Risk register.
Hortons chief executive, Tony Green, told the conservation and heritage panel that they liked this latest plan enough to finally submit a planning application. He told them how at the heart of the scheme would be the restoration of the famous Grosvenor Suite and Grand Staircase, and moving the entrance from Colmore Row to Church Street. Minimal changes would be made to the facade and eight “sky suites” would be put on to the roof.
The shops below on Colmore Row would also be renovated to fit in with the 1930s style of the existing Crockett and Jones frontage.
Barbara Shackley, from Warwickshire Gardens Trust, said: “I welcome this development because at the moment it is an eyesore. “It will be a real asset to Birmingham’s social life as it could be used for weddings. “What the developers are proposing is amazing.”
Andy Foster, from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, welcomed it, saying: “I’m very glad to see this scheme and it will be welcome to have the Grand Hotel back in use.”