British Land plans Paddington Central hotel

British Land has submitted plans to Westminster City Council for a new 23-storey hotel at its Paddington Central, W2, campus. The proposed hotel would provide up to 200 rooms as well as new café, restaurant and meeting spaces. The plans also include improvements to the public realm and to connections to the canalside. The hotel would help meet the GLA’s requirement for an additional 9,400 hotel rooms in Westminster by 2036. BL’s hotel application follows the opening of Pergola, a new 850-capacity al fresco dining experience, and the completion of 4 Kingdom Street, the first building delivered by British Land at Paddington Central, of which 89% of the office space is already let or under offer. Paddington Central comprises 11 acres and is home to leading international businesses including Microsoft, Vodafone, Shire, VISA and Prudential. [caption id="attachment_887014" align="alignnone" width="775"] Paddington Gateway hotel[/caption] British Land acquired part of the Paddington Central office campus for £470m in 2013 and completed the purchase of One Sheldon Square for £210m in 2015. Since then, the company has invested nearly £100m to transform the public realm and deliver 4 Kingdom Street. Tim Downes, development director at British Land, said: “Our plans for a new hotel at Paddington Central are part of the continuing transformation of the wider area, and capitalise on the opening of Crossrail in 2018. “We are in advanced negotiations with a high-quality operator and, subject to planning and prelets, and are looking to bringing this project forward as part of the next phase of Paddington Central’s development.” To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette