158-room hotel at 125 - 139 Queen Street, Cathays, Cardiff

“The proposal seeks consent for a 158-bedroom hotel with a roof-top pavilion. Internally, the hotel would provide facilities and services including a lobby, reception area, a proposed restaurant and sky-bar (within the fourth floor) and a fitness centre/small gymnasium.”

“To first floor the proposal would include 28 no. hotel rooms, along with a small gymnasium for the use of guests at the hotel. The second, third and fourth floors would each comprise 33 no. hotel rooms, with the fifth floor providing 31 no. hotel rooms. Each floor also proposes ancillary rooms and back of house support rooms to support the function of the hotel.”

“The application site comprises a prominent three-storey corner building with an art-deco façade, featuring existing ground floor commercial units fronting Queen Street. The site benefits from a highly prominent frontage along Queen Street, and the existing building footprint occupies approx. 1,590sqm. The application site also includes the service lane to the rear of the building.”

“The application site does not include any statutory listed building, although the south-eastern corner of the building is identified as being locally listed. The whole site lies within the Queen Street Conservation Area, and the boundary of the nearby Windsor Place Conservation Area also runs to the northern side of Windsor Lane, separated from the application site by the seven-storey purpose- built student accommodation building.”

“The site has the following relevant planning history: -”

“Granted 13.10.2020 17/02344/MNR Decoration Of Existing Building and Shopfront, New Entrance Door and Repairs to Flat Roof Granted 31.10.2017 A/17/00170/MNR New Internally Illuminated KFC Letters and New Internally Illuminated Projecting Sign Granted 31.10.2017”

“That planning permission be GRANTED subject to the relevant parties entering into a binding legal agreement under the provisions of SECTION 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 within 6 months of the date of this Resolution, unless otherwise agreed by the Council in writing, with the following broad Heads of Terms (in line with the Planning obligations SPG): -”

“Financial contribution of £89,135 towards the provision of public realm improvements at Queen Street and Dumfries Place.”

“Transportation: Comments received raising concern in respect of cycle storage provision, which is discussed in further detail under ‘Transportation/Highway impacts’ of this report.”

“Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (Historic Buildings and Places): No objections to the proposed change of use nor the principle of an upwards extension. However, they consider that the current development proposal is out or proportion and out of scale with the original host building.”

“The application was granted subject to S106 agreement.”