Revealed: Historic York hotel’s major expansion plans

The operators of one of York’s most famous hotels have unveiled fresh expansion plans. 

If the plans for The Principal York are approved, a new building will be built beside the garden wing, with 41 new bedrooms.

The building would sit next to Leeman Road, opposite the Royal Mail sorting office. 

Similar plans for the hotel were approved in 2016 but were not implemented, and then were approved again in 2019, but were then put on hold due to the pandemic.

Planning permission typically expires if work does not begin within three years, so City of York Council is again being asked to give new consent for the expansion. 

The hotel, which is Grade II listed, is owned by Covivio Hotels, and has been run by RBH Management since last autumn. It currently has 155 bedrooms, so the new plans would take that to 196. 

In the paperwork for the plans, the applicants say: “One of the key reasons that the hotel extension was not delivered within the last three years was due to the economic impact of the Covid 19 outbreak.

However, the hotel has seen in the last 12 months that we are beginning to see a return towards the pre-pandemic occupancies.” 

The Principal York (originally known as The Station Hotel and then The Royal York) was opened in 1878, a year after York Railway Station opened.

There have been several extensions in the past 135 years. 

The application documents say the proposed works are among several projects “aimed at reinstating the grandeur” of the hotel.

They add: “In essence, the proposals seek to secure the long term viable use, conservation and maintenance of the building.” 

The document says: “The main motivation for the bedroom extension is to meet extra demand on the conference business without detracting from Principal York Hotel’s new lifestyle focus.”

It says the new building would have only a negligible impact on any views of the building. 

You can see and comment on the plans here.