'Significant' £8m hotel plan moves a step closer as 110-room venue gets green light
The hotel is expected to open its doors in winter 2028-29
Senior councillors have approved proposals aimed at speeding up delivery of a new hotel in Wakefield city centre.
Wakefield Council’s cabinet members voted in favour of entering into an agreement with a developer to bring forward the long-awaited venue at the former Westgate rail station site.
Work is expected to start on building a 110-room “mid-range” hotel next summer as part of efforts to boost tourism and tackle a shortage of city centre visitor accommodation.
The council has chosen ION Property Developments Limited to deliver the scheme.
Following the cabinet’s decision at a meeting on Tuesday, the company now plans to carry out site investigations and complete design work before submitting a planning application.
Matthew Pinder, portfolio holder for district regeneration and regional growth, said: “It’s meeting a need for the city. Wakefield Civic Society have noted on a number of occasions that we lack high quality hotel capacity in the city centre.
“We want to ensure we can grow the economic vibrancy and capacity of this city.
“You are going to have more professionals, more people visiting Wakefield for tourism that are going to be putting money into small local businesses in the hospitality sector.
“That is something that we should be really proud of as a council.”
The council bought the old station site for almost £600,000 in an agreement with Northern Rail in 2023 as part of a regeneration masterplan for the city.
Around £8m has been provided from the government’s Local Regeneration Fund to support the development.
The hotel is expected to open its doors to customers in winter 2028-29.
A report said: “The hotel development will be Wakefield city centre’s first mid-range hotel, helping to redress a deficit in the hotel accommodation offer to boost cultural tourism and contribute to the visitor economy.
“This project represents significant investment in Wakefield, aiming to improve the urban environment for residents, businesses and visitors.”
The station ceased operations in 2013 when a new station on Mulberry Way was completed.
The site has been used as a temporary car park since 2024.