Leeds City Council has granted planning permission for a hotel conversion above a well-known city centre bar, a move designed to return long-empty upper floors of a Grade II-listed building to active use.
Plans and parties involved
Hospitality chain Mitchells and Butlers Retail sought permission to convert offices above the Nation of Shopkeepers on Cookridge Street into a hotel operating under the Innkeeper’s Collection brand. The approved scheme will create 42 hotel rooms while preserving the bar at ground floor level.
A council planning officer’s report notes the building is a 19th-century site and that the upper floors have been idle since the last office tenant left in 2022. The report said the office space had stood empty for around four years, despite marketing efforts.
“This proposal represents a sustainable and sensitive re-use of a landmark listed building, returning vacant upper floors to active use and adding to the vibrancy of Leeds city centre.”
Heritage, demand and local economy
The application was supported by Leeds Civic Trust, and the council officer’s assessment highlighted several local considerations: an identified shortage of high-standard, accessible hotel accommodation in the city and a concentration of office floorspace elsewhere in the centre.
The officer’s report said the development would help meet local demand for hotel accommodation and stimulate the economy by creating employment opportunities in both the construction and operational phases. It noted the challenge in re-letting the upper floors as offices given the amount of committed or newly completed office floorspace elsewhere within the city centre.
- Location: Cookridge Street, Leeds city centre
- Owner / Applicant: Mitchells and Butlers Retail
- Brand: Innkeeper’s Collection
- Rooms to be created: 42
- Heritage status: Grade II-listed building
What this means for residents and the city centre
Bringing the vacant upper floors back into use is likely to have immediate and visible effects on the streetscape around Cookridge Street. The ground-floor bar will remain, maintaining an existing hospitality offer at street level while adding overnight accommodation above.
The council report frames the scheme as a sustainable re-use of existing fabric rather than demolition and rebuild, a point that will be important to conservation-minded residents and groups. Support from Leeds Civic Trust signals approval from a key local heritage body for the approach taken by the developer.
The council also highlighted the potential for job creation. While no specific employment figures were given in the application or officer report, the planning documents stated the development would provide opportunities for local people during construction, fit-out and subsequent operation of the hotel.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Building age | 19th century |
| Upper floors status | Vacant since 2022 |
| Proposed use | Hotel (42 rooms) above existing bar |
For city centre businesses, additional hotel capacity can increase footfall and extend visitor stays, though local traders will also be watching how the scheme is managed — particularly servicing, deliveries and any change to street activity. The council officer’s report argued the proposal would add to city centre vibrancy and address a shortage of accessible hotel rooms.
The planning approval marks a further instance of developers looking to reuse central buildings to meet evolving demand for hospitality rather than office space. As Leeds continues to adapt to changing patterns of work and leisure, similar conversions could become more common where heritage constraints and market conditions make fresh office lettings challenging.
The approved plans now move to the detailed implementation stage. Any timetable for construction, the exact public opening date, and the number of jobs created will be set out by the developer as the project progresses.
