A NEW hotel is set to open in a former York city centre office block by the end of next year after being approved by planners.

Revised plans by Malmaison for the old Aviva building on the corner of Rougier Street were backed by City of York Council’s planning committee, with only three against.

Developers already had permission to convert Yorkshire House into a 124 bed hotel with 33 serviced apartments, but submitted a fresh application earlier this year.

This included a sky bar in a roof top extension and a single storey extension in the space between Yorkshire House and the Grand Hotel - a reduction on the six-storey side extension the previous plans included.

Rachel Martin, agent for the applicant, said the hotel would create 140 jobs, increase tourist and visitor spend in the city and have a positive impact on the area’s vitality and viability.

She said while formal meeting areas would be provided at ground floor, the lounge bar and sky terrace would provide more informal surroundings and would take advantage of the magnificent views of York.

A spokesman for the developer said construction would take about 60 weeks, which would mean completion by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

Council officials had said in a report that the roof top extension would create “less than substantial” harm to the historic city surrounds and the principal of losing the office space to a hotel development was already agreed.

The Malmaison plans caused controversy when they first emerged, sparking rows over how the loss of office space would hit the city jobs market.

Council economic bosses said York needed space for companies like Aviva which brought in high-skilled and well-paid jobs, not more low-wage hospitality jobs.

However the developers said Yorkshire House did not meet modern office standards and upgrading it would not be viable.

They said approval had already been given for the building to be converted into 66 flats, meaning the principal of losing the office space had already been established.

At this week’s meeting, Cllrs Michael Pavlovic and Fiona Derbyshire spoke of their concerns at the loss of office space but officers said full permission for the hotel had been given, which could not be taken away.