By Andy McCormick
Photo by Ben Redondo Beck
Plans for a brand-new four-star hotel at the Gloucester Docks to revitalise three vacant warehouse buildings have fallen through.
Dowdeswell Group Limited originally had won a competitive bid where they acquired the HKP Warehouses. It had been expected they would follow through with this success as a new hotel along the docks was announced.
Discussions have been ongoing in the Gloucester City Council, with Councillor Hilton commenting to the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources that ‘the agreement to sell HKP warehouses to the Dowdeswell Group Ltd doesn’t seem to have been concluded.’
It was brought up in questioning that ‘an exchange of contracts’ including a planning application for a new hotel was ‘to be expected by now.’ The response to that has been linked to consequences of the Covid pandemic and inflation impacting the market. This has left Dowdeswell with no choice but to withdraw despite winning the bid last year.
No legal agreement has been reached between the Council and Dowdeswell Group Limited regarding this conclusion. Gloucester City Council claims that ‘we have continued to diligently attempt to bring forward viable options to proceed.’
The council still would like to see the historic HKP warehouses re-furbished and may be looking into new developers to construct a hotel as previously anticipated.
Dowdeswell Group Limited may ultimately return to finalising their plans. It is possible this is only a temporary setback and the right conditions may yet be met.
As a Grade II listed building, the HKP warehouses need restoration. Dowdeswell’s official website has not yet taken down their photographs on the HKP Warehouses but there’s no information available regarding their plans. Unlike the Fleece Hotel in Gloucester, Dowdeswell are currently remaining invested in regenerating formerly iconic structures with their other ongoing projects.
With the council not giving up either, it is likely that HKP warehouses will still receive some sort of much-desired renovation work in the future.
