A ‘plain, boring, rectangular box’ Travelodge near Deansgate railway station will serve ‘hen and stag parties and football fans’ and destroy ‘beautiful’ Victorian buildings, objectors say.
Plans for the 152-bed hotel at 2-4 Whitworth Street West are recommended for approval by Manchester planning officers ahead of a planning committee meeting on Thursday.
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The proposed development would see two vacant Victorian warehouses demolished in place of the building which will also sit on top of Rowendale Street, which will close permanently.
Travelodge would occupy seven of the building’s eight floors, with the ground floor set aside for the potential occupation of restaurants, bars or shops.
But there are major concerns about the loss of the red-brick warehouses, as well as the impact on the Grade II listed railway viaduct to the rear of the development.
While neither of the warehouses are listed, many of the 57 objectors have urged councillors to vote against the plan and ‘save a little bit of Manchester’s history’.
One resident said: “2-4 Whitworth Street West are beautiful Victorian buildings and are a reminder of our history.
“To knock them down and replace them with a characterless box building is morally wrong.
“I am sure Travelodge can find enough money to do a nice restoration rather than demolish them completely and build some ugly and cheap quality building instead.”
(Image: Glenn Howells Architects/Maizefields and Arringord)
In a report to the planning committee, officers have stressed that there is no historic relationship between the two buildings, Deansgate station or the viaduct.
The buildings, which date from 1908 and 1922, are described as ‘neither rare, nor of sufficient quality’ to set them apart from other buildings of that period.
They also argue that by allowing the Travelodge to be built, the council would be supporting the creation of new jobs and tourism, while optimising the vacant site and ‘enhancing the local area’.
But the design of the building is a bone of contention amongst opponents to the scheme, which has been described as ‘bland and uninspiring’.
An objector said: “Another bland box with zero architectural merit, the type that could be found in any municipal town in Europe, whilst the loss of two historic buildings which would, when carefully repurposed, add significantly to the streetscape
“The city deserves better, much better.”
Another objector added: “All that another generic hotel will serve is hen/stag parties and football fans in a building that looks like every new building that has gone up in recent years.”
In response to the issues raised, the applicants Maizefields Ltd and Arringord Ltd say the design of the brick building ‘borrows heavily’ from buildings in the surrounding area.
A taller building had been considered but the developers decided that a lower, mid-rise building would be more appropriate given the abundance of high-rises nearby.
The report says: “The scale of the hotel responds to its context including Deansgate Locks, Grade II listed viaducts and and would respond well to the pedestrian environment and relate to the scale of buildings elsewhere on Whitworth Street.”
