Hotel plans for Old Royal Mail sorting office in Newport city centre withdrawn as hotel chain pulls out

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DEVELOPERS are heading back to the drawing board after a hotel chain pulled out of a proposal to build a hotel on the site of a former Royal Mail sorting office in the city-centre.

Cardiff based developers, Garrison Barclay Estates, have announced that plans to build an 80-bed hotel alongside 30,000 sq ft of offices on the site of the IAC building in Mill Street have been withdrawn from consultation.

However, the developers have confirmed they will re-look at the plans and come back with a new proposal which will be focussed solely on office space.


The plans included provision for 80 to 90 parking spaces on the disused five storey site, known locally as the former sorting office, which had raised concerns among residents and city councillors already frustrated at the lack of parking in the area.

Developers Garrison Barclay, who bought the site last year with the intention of providing “grade A office space”, said the city centre location near Newport railway station was ideal for development.

Newport City Council had previously said redeveloping the dilapidated 55,000 sq ft building, which is next to the rail line and seen by thousands of train passengers every day, would help improve the image of the city as a whole.

In December 2017, the council cabinet signed off plans to loan Garrison Barclay £12 million to fund the scheme.


But Garrison Barclay confirmed yesterday (Thursday, April 5) that consultation has been withdrawn after the hotel chain “moved the goalposts” last week and tried to renegotiate the rate they would pay the developers to have the hotel on the site.


A spokesman for Garrison Barclay Estates said: “The proposed hotel has changed the goalposts and pulled out of the deal, so we have withdrawn the application and will look to have a meeting with Newport City Council and suggest the site is used just for offices.

“The hotel chain has pulled out within the last week or so because they had local board approval but did not receive main board approval.


“The demand for the right office space is there. There had been some objections raised about parking provisions during the process.

“Offices were always the plan for the site, but we were approached by the hotel chain with a proposal.

“But they wanted to renegotiate the rate at which they were prepared to rent the building from us.

“They changed the hurdle rates, meaning the project was no longer viable as a hotel.

“The original plans had 30,000 sq ft. The new plans will probably increase that to around 50,000 sq ft.

“We need to go through the plans with the council but there aren’t the same challenges as there were with the hotel in terms of parking.


“The plans were for 80-90 car parking spaces. We will have to wait to see what our architects come up with in terms of adding more, but the location next to the train station is ideal.”

Reacting to the news, Allt-yr-yn Conservative councillor, Charles Ferris, said it was a great shame that the planned hotel would not be built.

Cllr Ferris said: “I think it’s a pity it’s not going to be a hotel. We’re told that we need more hotels and there’s a question mark over the Sainsbury’s site which was originally going to be a hotel.

“Certainly we need hotel accommodation to cater for the numbers the new conference centre at the Celtic Manor is going to bring.

“More offices is definitely a good thing for Newport, but the concern over adequate parking is a big issue to be addressed for people in my ward.