A £16m deal has been sealed to help transform a former carpet shop into a 188-bedroom hotel on the edge of York city centre.

CBRE Investment Management has awarded the contract for the redevelopment of the former Carpetright site on the junction of Layerthorpe and Foss Islands Road to leading contractor Clegg Construction.

York Press:

The Nottingham-based company is now developing York’s sixth Premier Inn at the site.

The four-storey hotel has been designed, using materials that fit in with the area.

The latest environmental technologies will also be used, including air source heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation, LED lighting, photovoltaic cells, and six electric car charging points, to ensure the carbon footprint of the building is kept to a minimum.

Lyndon Bowler, the contracts manager on the project, said the development would be a valuable asset to York by providing extra visitor accommodation and enhancing a historic area of the city.

The hotel’s location is 1.7km from the train station and a 10-minute walk from York Minster, with nearby shops being served by more than 15 different bus routes.

Mr Bowler said: “This beautiful development is really going to enhance this part of York.

“The old retail outlet brought nothing to the area, but the new Premier Inn will be a wonderful addition to the street scene.

“The building will utilise two different brick finishes; a more textured brick for the Layerthorpe elevation and a lighter, more contemporary brick for the elevation fronting Foss Island Road, ensuring it completely aligns with the local character.

“This will be combined with recessed light bronze/gold cladding with an anodised finish to provide a natural reflectivity that changes with the light. Once completed, it is going to look spectacular.”

Clegg Construction, which has its head office in Nottingham and regional offices in Thorpe Park, Leeds, and Milton Hall, Cambridge, is an approved supplier to Whitbread PLC, owners of Premier Inn.

This will be the third Premier Inn project the company has worked on in the Yorkshire area.

It follows on from the building of the Premier Inn at the Arndale Centre at Headingley, Leeds, and the recently completed re-cladding of the Premier Inn in Leeds city centre.

Mr Bowler said: “We’re extremely excited by this build.

“So much work has gone into the design of the hotel to ensure it enhances the city and the result will be a really stunning building.

“We’re already on site clearing it in readiness to start the build and we’re all very much looking forward to seeing it start coming out of the ground in 2022.”

Nick Charlesworth, director at The Harris Partnership, the project architect, said: “Our design aims to significantly improve the ecology opportunities and improve the overall environment by providing a sustainable development for Premier Inn.”