Business leaders in Bath have welcomed the news that one of the city's ugliest buildings will be demolished.
Bath is about to wave goodbye to the eyesore of Kingsmead House. The building has stood empty for more than six years, but later this year the bulldozers will move in and demolish the eight-storey building on James St West to make way for a new four-star hotel.
It took developers Telereal Trillium almost three years to get planning permission for a 177-bedroom hotel with conference facilities, and a further three years to find an operator to take over the project.
But the hunt is finally over and the company recently sold the site, complete with planning consent, for an undisclosed amount of money to luxury hotel chain Apex Hotels.
The chain, which already has hotels in London and Edinburgh, has said it will invest £35 million into the Bath site, with demolition work due to start by the end of the year and building work to start in May next year.
Chairman of Apex Hotels Norman Springford, said: "This is a rare and exciting growth opportunity for Apex to add to our portfolio and have presence in a popular Unesco World Heritage Site.
"Our properties have developed a great reputation and we hope to emulate this with the opening of our property in Bath."
Kingsmead House, which towers over the junction between James St West and Charles Street, was left empty after the Department for Work and Pensions moved out of the building in 2008.
Despite attempts to get new tenants Telereal Trillium made the decision to convert the city centre site into hotel accommodation.
Executive director at Bath Chamber of Commerce Ian Bell said he was delighted by the news.
"Sometimes in Bath we hear about plans that never make it but it's excellent news something is happening.
"I think we need a range of different hotel offers in the city from the budget through to the high quality and one of the things the city accommodation study from a few years ago mentioned was the need for branded hotels that tourists would recognise and trust."
Andrew Peters (right), who owns the Green Park Brasserie opposite the hotel site, said he was pleased something was finally being done with the site.
He said: "It's a really important site for the city as a gateway site and it's been a monstrosity for a long period of time.
"I'm overjoyed to hear a hotel is being put there especially with the conference facilities – that is something Bath needs to be tapping into."
Despite raising concerns when the original planning application was made, Colin Potter from the Bath Independent Guest House Association said the group welcomed the development.
He said: "We have no objection to further accommodation as long as it's of the right quality and this proposal fits that description.
"We are not afraid of competing with other hotels and as a city we need more conference facilities. This will complement what is already in the city."
The Kingsmead Square and Green Park areas of the city have become a hub of development in recent years creating a new leisure quarter for Bath.
In December 2013 Premier Inn opened a £11.5 million 108-bedroom hotel on James St West. Earlier this year former care home Green Park House was demolished to make way for 461-bed student development after initial plans for a hotel at the site were abandoned.
Bath is also eagerly awaiting the opening of the £16 million Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel on Lower Borough Walls.
The luxury hotel will be part of the YTL hotel chain, which already has properties such as the Pangkor Laut Resort and The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
Apex Hotels has said it expects its Bath project to be completed by autumn 2016.
