Accor’s Mercure Leicester The Grand Hotel is set to get a facelift as part of a £1.5 million High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme.
Works on the Grade II listed building will include bespoke iron gates for recessed doorways and delivery entrances, as well as new signage and cleaning and repairs being made to the building’s windows and balcony.
The shopfronts that line the hotel are to be reinstated “as close to the building’s original design as possible”, using sustainable hardwood timber and toughened glass, and a new retail unit is to be created on Belvoir Street.
Finally specialists will look at whether the existing canopy above the hotel’s entrance can be retained and restored.
The building was designed by Cecil Ogden and built by Amos Hall between 1897 and 1898.
Leicester City Council said that the project is part of efforts to revitalise the city centre and encourage more businesses to invest and people to visit, post-pandemic. Work is likely to start this summer, pending the granting of planning permission.
Commenting on the news Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke said:
“The Grand Hotel and ISKON buildings are fine examples of Leicester’s Victorian past, and we have an important responsibility to preserve them for future generations to enjoy.
“The Grand Hotel – now owned by the Mercure group – has always been considered one of Leicester’s most prestigious hotels, but today the ground floor is spoilt by poorly designed shop fronts, cheap modern materials and oversized signage.
“In February 2020, thanks to the hard work of the council’s conservation team, Historic England announced that Leicester had been successful in securing £1.5m towards a High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme for the Granby Street and Church Gate conservation areas.
“This means we have been able to support the hotel to get an expert conservation architect team, Conception Architects, to survey the building, and plans have now been submitted for changes that will highlight and enhance the building’s important and attractive historical features.”
