Town hall urged to reveal cost of buying old hotel
THERE have been calls for Kirklees Council to reveal how much it has paid to buy the iconic George Hotel in Huddersfield.
The price tag for the derelict Victorian building, which occupies a prime site outside Huddersfield Station, has been estimated at anywhere between £1m and £3m.
And there are fears that the council may have paid over the odds to secure it.
Tories have given a cautious welcome to news that the Labourrun authority has intervened to buy the hotel and prevent it deteriorating further.
But they have demanded to see a purchase figure on the basis of transparency and accountability.
Clr Richard Smith, the business manager for the Conservative group, said the purchase price ought to be made public.
He added: “Three key questions should be answered: how much has the council paid, where did it get the money from, and was compulsory purchase considered? I suspect we will never find out the answers.”
Kirklees Council has said it is not yet in a position to release a figure although it has reached an agreement “in principle” with the owner.
A spokesman said: “We will of course be releasing the fee agreed and will be able to do this when it is presented to Cabinet for official approval.”
The authority said cash for the deal - which, until money is exchanged, is considered commercially sensitive - has come from its £68m capital plan.
Clr Smith’s party colleague, Mirfield councillor Martyn Bolt, said transparency would help public confidence in the scheme.
He asked: “What will this project cost Kirklees residents? If the council hasn’t already got a business plan for the George, it is failing the people.”
The landmark George Hotel was bought in April 2013 by dentist Dr Altaf Hussain for around £900,000.
By December 2015 it was back on the market with an asking price of £3m.
In the years since it has fallen further into decay with the council under pressure to act.
In revealing its decision to buy the hotel, council leader Shabir Pandor said it was “the right thing to do.”
Referring to the £250m Huddersfield Blueprint aimed at regenerating the town centre he added: “It wouldn’t feel right for so much investment and regeneration to come to the town centre whilst such a popular building stays closed.”
However it has not disclosed how much money it paid.
Referring to the George two years ago, senior councillor Peter
McBride said: “The council is not going to take it on. We haven’t got the resources to be able to do that.”
Instead he said the council would encourage investment from the private sector or partners such as West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), a group of leading councillors and officers from West Yorkshire councils, plus York, that works on major infrastructure projects.
But in February last year his colleague Clr Naheed Mather revealed that the council was in secret negotiations with owner Dr Hussain to “see if there are possibilities of development there.”
Clr Smith has previously called on the council to investigate compulsorily purchasing the hotel, which is Grade II-listed, if it could be shown that the owner was unwilling or unable to carry out repairs.
He said: “I don’t want to criticise the council just for the sake of criticising them. If this is going to result in an eyesore being returned to a beautiful building then I’m all for it.
“But they have changed position markedly over a short period of time. Why have they done that and at what cost to the public purse?
“It’s still public money at the end of the day whether it’s come from WYCA, a Government grant or the council itself.
“If the owner bought the George to let it rot and to force the council’s hand, then he has succeeded.
“He will have made a big profit from an asset that should have been looked after from the start.
“He is getting his money back plus a lot more as well. That’s why people are annoyed. Has the council paid an inflated price? We need to know the answer because if so we are all paying for it.”