The restoration of the George Hotel in Huddersfield has been delayed again amid fears construction costs have risen.

The George Hotel, owned by Kirklees Council, is to become a 91-bedroom boutique hotel for Radisson RED, however a contractor has yet to be appointed.

Planning permission was granted in June 2023 for the restoration of the grade II-listed building and the construction and fit-out phases are expected to take around 18 months.

The latest estimate given for the opening was summer 2025 but now the council says it can’t give a timescale.

After planning permission was secured the council appointed Morgan Sindall Construction on a ‘pre-contract service agreement’ with Queensbury as project manager.

 

 

The council allocated £20 million for the construction work, which includes the demolition of a “historically unimportant” three-storey block facing Huddersfield Railway Station.

The new-look hotel will have a 70-seat restaurant and bar, a large conference room and a 100-cover banqueting suite available for hire.

It is understood the delays are due to negotiations over costings and many council building projects have seen costs spiral, not least projects for Our Cultural Heart where plans had to be scaled back to remain affordable.

 

 

Clr Graham Turner (above), Cabinet member for finance and regeneration at Kirklees Council, admitted it was a “tricky time” in the construction industry and said: “We are going through the costings. It’s public money and we have to get the best value.

“Yes, we are behind where we wanted to be but the development has to be done sympathetically and has to be done in the right way, at the right price.”

The council has a contract with the Radisson Hotel Group and it is understood that remains in place.

The George Hotel has a history dating back over 170 years. It closed in 2013 and was bought by the council in 2020 for £1.8 million.

Rugby league was founded in the hotel in 1895 and it was the council’s original intention to house the sport’s National Rugby League Museum within the hotel however that proved to be financially unviable.

 

The George Hotel is being transformed into an upmarket Radisson RED and here’s what we can expect