Reimagining 5-9 Great Newport Street

Reimagining
5-9 Great Newport Street

High quality, highly affordable visitor accommodation with an enhanced cultural offer

Thank you for providing your feedback on our plans for 5-9 Great Newport Street.

Click here to view a summary of consltation feedback

Melford, acting as advisors to Great Newport Street Ltd, has assembled a team of specialists to investigate options for repositioning 5-9 Great Newport Street towards a more sustainable future. The goal is to improve the theatre facilities and offer high-quality, highly affordable visitor accommodation. As developer, landlord and long-term operator, we are committed to working in collaboration with our neighbours to foster long-term relationships.

At present, the site benefits from an existing permission approved in 2016 for a hotel use, with significant basement excavation and demolition involved, including the total demolition of 6-9 Great Newport Street.

Our emerging proposals will make several improvements to the 2016 approved scheme, including reduced demolition and basement excavation, which will result in a more sustainable and less disruptive development for neighbours.

With a proven track record in Westminster and beyond for creating top-tier, sustainable visitor accommodation, Melford is enthusiastic about this distinctive opportunity to bring about positive change. Prior to submitting a planning application to Westminster City Council, we want to gather your thoughts on our proposals to shape the development of our plans.

The Site

5-9 Great Newport Street is located in the Covent Garden Conservation Area in the heart of Westminster and consists of three buildings set centrally within a city block: 5, 6-7 and 8-9 Great Newport Street.

The site has a rich heritage with 5 Great Newport Street being Grade II listed and 6-7 Great Newport Street being home to The Arts Club since 1926.

At present, the site is significantly underutilised and has an approved permission for near full demolition and redevelopment to provide hotel use.

Our emerging proposals intend to improve the extant permission with a scheme which minimises environmental and construction impacts and retains the existing heritage assets whilst introducing new high-quality, affordable visitor accommodation and an enhanced cultural offer through renewed investment in the existing Arts Theatre at Number 6-7.

Our Proposals

Creating a pod-hostel to provide a modern, accessible option for visitors in Westminster

Providing a valuable cultural contribution to the West End with enhanced theatre space

Creating a building with high-levels of sustainability

Restoring and enhancing the listed façade

487sqm of modern office space to support small businesses

Be long-standing landlords in the area creating long-term relationships

Designing a high-quality and sympathetic extension

Pursuing a less intrusive development with minimised demolition and basement excavation compared to the 2016 approved scheme

Protecting Residential Amenity

There is an approved permission for the full redevelopment of 5-9 Great Newport Street. This approved scheme (Reference: 12/03930/FULL) for extensive demolition and basement excavation works, permits near total demolition of 6-9 Great Newport Street and equivalent 4 storeys of basement excavations. Our revised scheme significantly reduces demolition and excavation, with works conducted to a more concise construction timescale to ensure consideration for our neighbours.

The benefits of the new proposals compared to the extant permission can be seen in the table below.

Daylight/Sunlight

Our proposals have been designed to minimise any impact on neighbouring daylight/sunlight. The proposed hostel will be fully compliant with BRE guidelines, and there will be no visible loss of daylight/sunlight to existing homes at Sandringham Flats. Site visits with our neighbours are ongoing to ensure the design responds to its environment to protect all aspects of neighbouring amenity.

We do believe there may be some reduction in winter sunlight to the public courtyard at Sandringham Flats but this will be very minor, and our design is undergoing ongoing revisions to mitigate this.

High-quality, highly affordable visitor accommodation in the heart of Westminster

We are proposing to deliver an innovative pod-hostel at 5-9 Great Newport Street, meeting growing demand for affordable visitor accommodation in central London to support tourism in the West End. The offer will expand and diversify tourism in the area, enabling those who wish to visit central London to do so – whatever their budget. The pod-hostel offers a higher quality experience than its traditional hostel competitors by providing a secure, safe sleep environment, with direct fresh air ventilation, secure storage, temperature and lighting controls.

The proposed hostel will be operated by 92 Dean, an innovative new hospitality brand that builds on Melford’s strong track record of successful offers and community partnership. Alongside the hostel, our proposals will deliver c. 487 sqm of modern, high-quality office space to support small businesses in Westminster.

Concept images of pod-hostel interior

About Pod Hostels

By hostel, we mean a hospitality concept akin to a hotel, rather than rooms full of bunk beds serving backpackers or a care function. The plan is to create the next generation of shared accommodation, bridging the gap between the well-established Japanese pod hotels, the lifestyle hostel sector and budget hotels. The concept will offer a comfortable, secure, design-led, high quality, sleep-only pod, supported by stylish shared facilities and communal spaces, with food and drink offered through innovative vending solutions, and with a very broad target age of customer.

The pod-hostel will embrace technology and prioritise security to create a new, forward thinking and enjoyable hostel experience. Protecting neighbour’s amenity will also be vital, we will achieve this through the below measures:

Security and privacy will be key priorities.
Check-in and check-out will be a digital experience which will prevent peak times when guests need to leave/arrive.
There will be a 24/7 staffing presence for the lobby area.
Access to the building will only be for guests, there will be no public access (such as restaurants or bars).
The hostel will employ a number of CCTV cameras to for everyone’s safety.
We are proposing to use a doorman in peak times to ensure the smooth management of guests entering and exiting the premises.
Implement soundproofing measures within the building structure to minimise noise transfer between rooms and common areas.
Establish a community liaison officer role to address any concerns or feedback from residents promptly.
Provide information to guests about local customs and regulations to promote responsible tourism

Image showing the existing theatre interior

An enhanced cultural offer through a refreshed Arts Theatre

The existing Arts Theatre at 6-7 Great Newport Street is in need of improvement. The theatre currently has no disabled access from the main entrance to the theatre auditorium and a poor and confusing internal configuration, with no dedicated bar space and the theatre foyer being too small to host audience members during the interval, meaning many theatre goers leave the venue during the interval which significantly impacts the theatre’s business plan. There is very limited WC provision, and staff amenity is also poor, with outdated and precarious backstage infrastructure.

Our proposals will retain and enhance the theatre, with renewed investment to improve audience experience and ensure the theatre complies with modern occupier standards. Our strategy for retaining and enhancing the theatre has been shaped by ongoing engagement with the Theatres Trust, who are highly supportive of renewed investment in the Arts Theatre. The improvements delivered by the enhancement and broader redevelopment will ensure the Arts Theatre is future-proofed, securing its continued success and long-term contribution to the West End. Our proposals also allow the theatre to stay open for longer during any construction phrase compared to the extant permission.

Design approach

Our proposals will minimise the need for intrusive interventions whilst also retaining and enhancing the existing heritage assets. Importantly we are only proposing one additional basement storey compared to the 2016 approved scheme which grants permission for an equivalent 4-storey excavation. We believe this change will reduce the construction timeframe by circa 18 months.

The existing façade and listed building at Number 5 will be retained and enhanced to ensure that they contribute positively to the character and heritage of the Covent Garden Conservation Area, whilst the ad-hoc rear buildings will be redeveloped to provide an aligned interior and simplified structure across the site, with a sensitive set back extension.

Our plans also allow us to greatly improve how much energy the current buildings use. We will add features that can withstand changes in the climate, making the buildings more efficient in reducing carbon emissions.

CO2 heat pump to minimise energy consumption

Energy efficient LED lighting

High performing mechanical ventilation with heat recovery

Waste water heat recovery system, reducing the energy required to heat water in the building

Retrofitting facades and windows to reduce heat loss

Pod-hostel format with reduced per-guest energy consumption through leading systems

Verified views

Current Site - viewed from Garrick Street looking West

St Martin’s Lane view

Indicative timeline

The team

About the operator

Melford, advisors to Great Newport Street Ltd, are a creative investor in UK real estate, with an exceptional track record in London and the Southeast. The proposed pod-hostel will be operated by 92 Dean, Melford’s new innovative and affordable hospitality concept, that builds on Melford’s strong track record of successful offers and community partnership.

92 Dean will deliver a premium shared accommodation hospitality concept based on the tried and tested “pod-hostel” concept, offering upscale shared accommodation in a private environment.

92 Dean aims to establish a series of pod-hostels in central London, offering an affordable alternative accommodation, with unrivalled locations, targeting the youth leisure market and leisure and corporate commuters.

Melford and 92 Dean are keen to build long-term relationships in the area and will be considerate neighbours committed to protecting residential amenity. Please click here to view how we will manage and operate the pod-hostel.

Project team