Controversial York hotel closed by floods – two months after it opened

A controversial riverside hotel in York has closed because of flooding – less than two months after it opened.

The £20 million Roomzzz Aparthotel on Terry Avenue opened in January.

Residents objected to the planning application for the 97-bedroom hotel back in 2016 – saying it was inappropriate for an area which floods regularly.

A spokesman for the hotel said guests and vehicles were moved out after staff were made aware of the risk of flooding on Sunday.

And the hotel is not currently open. He said:

• We had a thorough flood plan in place before opening, which has been diligently followed throughout this week.

  The building was carefully designed to cope with the impact of the water entering the site and we have been monitoring the situation as the floods have progressed.

  Local access has been limited and roads to the aparthotel have remained closed until water levels reduce further.
  

‘Guests were understanding’

The spokesman added that “guests were very understanding” and thanked nearby hotels for helping with the move.

And they said: “We do not anticipate any serious damage to the building or surroundings once the waters recede. Clean-up is already planned and we expect to welcome our guests back to their booked apartments over the coming days.

“The flood wall protection which we also constructed as part of the scheme has done its’ job to serve the local residents in Lower Ebor Street.”

“The team have done a great job and are very grateful for the support and understanding of the York community as we prepare to re-open.”

Former Micklegate councillor Johnny Hayes previously compared the building to a “liner ship” and asked how it had been granted planning permission. He said:

• It has now been hit by flooding – something that was mentioned in the early planning stages.

  I confess to being pretty critical of the whole idea and to some extent this was an accident waiting to happen.

  Nobody wants to see a business flooded and I feel sorry for them from that point of view. I’m very concious of the river levels because I was involved in the floods in 2015.
  

The luxury riverside hotel – which has a a gym and deli – opened at the end of December 2019.

The four-storey building was granted planning permission by a majority vote of 11 votes to three in 2016, despite residents’ concerns.