'Wakefield needs a hotel to be a centre of culture' - Civic society says
The president of Wakefield Civic Society has renewed calls for a hotel in the city.
Kevin Trickett said a hotel would be a vital part of the city’s regeneration as plans to build a hotel on the former Westgate railway station are ongoing.
A meeting last month heard Wakefield Council was yet to find a partner to redevelop the station.
The council originally proposed a hotel for the former police station site on Wood Street but there wasn’t strong enough interest from hotel developers and operators to make it viable.
Developer Rushbond acquired the building and is turning it into residential units, with additional units being built on Rishworth Street and Gills Yard.
Mr Trickett said the civic society supported residential use of city centre buildings to encourage demand for local shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.
He said: “One thing that Wakefield lacks in our view is good hotel accommodation – not just bedrooms but office spaces for meetings, events and even conferences to be held here.
"While there are some hotels in the city centre – the Holiday Inn Express, for example, which we are happy to use to accommodate guest speakers coming to Wakefield, we do lack a decent four-star hotel.
"There is, however, a chicken and egg situation. Do you build the venues first or the hotels?
"I can see venue operators being reluctant to build and open new venues to attract visitors when there is a shortage of hotel capacity – but a hotel operator would be reluctant to open a new hotel until there is proven demand from visitors coming to the city, whether for leisure or business purposes.
"This is the problem the council is grappling with and they are currently searching for a developer/operator to partner with.
"I don’t know how far they are with this but we certainly wish them well and hope a suitable partner can be found.”
An estimated 7,127 jobs exist across the district to support tourism based on 2023 figures.
In 2025, the Rhubarb Festival is estimated to have attracted some 40,000 visitors and 32 coaches came.
“There were more venues taking part than ever before and for the council to continue to build on this success, we need hotels,” he said.