Hotel plan for Debenhams site would 'boost tourism'

Plans have been revealed for a new hotel on the site of a former Debenhams store in Worcestershire - almost five years after it closed down.

Developers want to transform the building in Worcester High Street into a 63-bed hotel with commercial units on the ground floor.

The move comes after the city centre suffered a major blow in January 2021, when Debenhams closed the store down and went into liquidation.

A planning application for the hotel urges Worcester City Council to approve the scheme "without delay", calling it "a landmark building".

Under the proposal the hotel would be operated by Kula, which runs several hotels in the UK and Australia in locations including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Sydney.

The existing building would be retained and converted in a major redevelopment, with the cladding replaced by floor-to-ceiling windows.

The application has been submitted by Nick Carroll architects, which first revealed its intentions to the BBC last year.

In the detailed planning application, it states that the building "has a run-down appearance due to being empty for several years", and argues that a revamp would boost tourism and spending in the city centre.

It adds: "In January 2021 the store was closed and the building has remained vacant and underutilised since then.

"The site represents an opportunity for enhancing the city centre - this scheme will play an important part in the economic regeneration work that is occurring across the city."

The site was previously earmarked for an artisan-style food hall in 2022, but the idea never came to fruition after the investors behind it pulled out.

The hotel proposal is expected to be voted on by the planning committee at Worcester City Council some time in the spring.

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