Peterborough’s Great Northern Hotel moves to calm fears over its future after council refuses to rule out demolition

The Great Northern Hotel near the station

Council executive director for place and economy Steve Cox told the Peterborough Telegraph earlier this month that the hotel “is an important building, but it’s one that will need to form part of the conversation of how we form a better gateway into the city”.

He was speaking in relation to plans to redevelop the Station Quarter and make use of new Azuma trains which it is hoped will rapidly transport people to London in the future.

However, Mr Cox refused to rule out the hotel’s demolition if it formed part of the proposals for the area, which it is hoped will attract investors to Peterborough.

Responding to the comments, Great Northern general manager Shaun Rollinson said neither himself nor the hotel’s owner Colin Hill had had any discussions with the council over its future.

He also stressed that the council does not own the hotel or surrounding land, and that Mr Hill already has planning permission for retail and office space.

Mr Rollinson told the Peterborough Telegraph: “The owner and myself have had no conversations with the council regarding this particular property at the moment and the council do not own the property or land.

“The current owner does have planning permission to develop the site.

“At the moment we’ve had no discussions with the council or third parties to demolish or sell the property or land.”