The Times newspaper has named the Beverley Arms in a list of the country’s best hotels of 2018.
Bowman Riley designed the £6.5m restoration project of the historic hotel in Beverley’s town centre bringing back to life its unique character. The hotel reopened for business in summer 2018.
The national paper produced a top 10 ‘British hotels of the Year’ and said of the refurbishment: “The result is a stylish, bustling hotel worthy of this handsome market town.”
The Times newspaper travel feature tops a fantastic launch for the Georgian property and adds to Daniel Thwaites list of accolades.
John Coultas, director at Bowman Riley:
“This fantastic news for the Beverley Arms and for Daniel Thwaites. We are proud of our involvement in the restoration of the historic building as a local landmark and as a key part of the continued success of Beverley as a visitor destination”.
Take a look at more of our hotel projects
Anyone living, working or visiting Leeds over the past few years has witnessed the impact of major retail developments like Trinity and Victoria Gate. Bowman Riley has been working as retail architects for the past 50 years with projects currently underway at Trinity and the White Rose Centre.
Despite ongoing projects, the future of high street shopping remains uncertain and the promise of future developments hangs in the balance.
Consumer spending in the retail sector is rising year on year, however, studies show that money is spent online and the face of the high street must adapt to embrace that change. Leeds’ ability to adapt and change is remarkable and this has kept me (a native Southerner) living and working here since leaving Leeds Beckett University in 2005.
A developer approached Leeds City Council for help to improve the performance of their current asset with a view to the viability of a proposed future phase to the scheme. The Council then took the challenge to the Leeds Chamber’s Property Forum.
As an active member of the Property Forum, I work collaboratively with property professionals, the Council and Leeds Business Improvement District (BID) on the Quality Places and Spaces (QPS) group with the common aim of improving the city.
This is a valuable partnership between public and private sector, which has facilitated initiatives such as the temporary closure of Greek Street to vehicles, commentary on the HS2 Station Masterplan and upcoming improvements around the Corn Exchange.
We spotted an opportunity to influence the future of invigorating developments our city by harnessing the talent of the next generation.
Teaming up with Leeds Beckett University BA Architecture students, we have established a year-long programme of tutorials, workshops and presentations looking at areas of our city that could benefit from regeneration or imagination. The focus has been on under-valued and underused areas, stalled developments and existing operations that require a refresh.
I am excited to see what uninhibited, fresh and creative thinking the students will develop over the coming months and look forward to being able to nurture their talent.
These ideas will be presented to the council and property developers to offer a source of debate leading to the instigation of tangible outputs for the benefit of everyone.
To find out more about the project and the work of the QPS group, please contact Colin Briggs. Download Colin’s vCard here.
Bowman Riley is facilitating a project for Leeds Beckett University undergraduate architecture students as part of our involvement in the Leeds Chamber of Commerce’s Property Forum and QPS.
Coin Briggs, an Associate Architect, in our Leeds office has played an active role in the Property Forum’s specialist sub-group, QPS (Quality Places and Spaces) for the past 18 months. This specialist sub-group of the Property Forum is a partnership in the city bringing together professionals across the property industry with Leeds City Council and Leeds BID to focuses on the quality of Leeds’ public realm.
The latest project is to guide, mentor and inspire Leeds Beckett University’s second and third-year students on the BA Architecture Degree to rise to the challenge of presenting a scheme to improve an under-used area of the city centre.
Kicking off the project with an initial meeting and workshop in our Leeds office, 18 students arrived to hear how the Quality Places and Spaces group influences and works towards re-invigorating the under-used and under-valued spaces in and around the city. We then participated in a workshop with the students to consider areas that could benefit from their ideas, research and proposals.
The Quality Places and Spaces group will participate in the review process throughout the academic year with second-year students presenting a scheme in December and third-year students continuing through into 2019.
Harrogate Town AFC has been given the green light for the redevelopment of their Wetherby Road ground, adding new facilities and almost doubling capacity.
The development will support the club’s aim of eventually securing promotion to the Football League.
The club’s application was granted approval at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee yesterday on 24 April 2018.
Proposals include a new two-storey clubhouse, seated terraces, an office building, classrooms to be used as community facilities and a new, improved floodlighting solution. The club’s recently-installed 3G playing pitch was also approved by members.
The development will increase the capacity of the ground from 2,800 spectators to about 5,000.
Harrogate Town AFC was advised on its application by advised by Indigo Planning and the scheme was designed by Bowman Riley Architects.
The club has used the site for training and matches since 1919 and spectator facilities have been expanded in recent years.
They have ambitions to get promoted from National League North to the National League and eventually the Football League. To meet this target, an upgrade and improvement to the playing and spectator facilities is required to meet the Football Association’s (FA) requirements.
Harrogate Town managing director Garry Plant said:
“The football club has been at the heart of the Harrogate community for nearly 100 years. We are delighted that the planning committee supported this sensitively designed scheme which will help us achieve our ambitions. The club is committed to delivering a high quality facility that the local community can be proud of.”
David Smith, associate at Indigo, added:
“We have worked closely with the club, the council’s officers, the design team and local community to secure this permission. Given the site’s location, it was essential that we engaged with the local community throughout the planning process and respond to their feedback. The scheme has evolved over the last 7 months as a result of these discussions.”
Darren Bush, director at Bowman Riley Architects commented:
“We have worked together with Harrogate Town and the whole team to create a design which not only meets the demands of the club but is also sensitive to the site constraints and the closer and wider neighbourhood environment. We are delighted that planning has been approved for the exciting expansion plans for the club. The new and improved facilities will really make a difference to the future of the club that continues to go from strength to strength.”
We are delighted that planning has been approved for the exciting expansion plans for the club. The new and improved facilities will really make a difference to the future of the club that continues to go from strength to strength”
Consultant team members include; Bowman Riley (design), Indigo (planning), Curtins (flood risk, drainage, geo-environmental and transport), SJB Floodlighting (lighting), Apex Acoustics (noise), Smeeden Foreman (arboriculture and ecology), GWPS (sustainability).
See great articles in the Business Insider and Stray FM news
Skipton Building Society’s Atrium has been shortlisted for two awards at Mixology North Awards 2017, a prestigious award ceremony created for the interior design community taking place on Thursday 7th December 2017.
Designed by Bowman Riley Architects and Interiors, Skipton Building Society’s Atrium project transformed an underused external courtyard into an indoor multi-functional space to promote staff collaboration and enhanced working practices.
Officially launched in February 2017, the Atrium was a result of the need to provide additional office space at Skipton Building Society’s head office in North Yorkshire. The innovative solution we provided delivered additional space within the footprint of the building without encroaching onto the surrounding greenbelt.
Please read our case study about the Atrium project.
Ultimate Office Solutions supported the project by providing loose furniture and the installation of AV equipment.
Bowman Riley Architects has been recognised for Design Excellence at the Insider Yorkshire Property Awards YPA 2017 for the new Sir Michael Wilkins Arts Centre at Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield.
The new £6.5 million Arts Centre features a multi-purpose flexible performance space, galleries and state-of-the-art music recording studios, which are not only used for teaching and performing but also allow collaborative working with visiting arts practitioners and community use.
The project will be battling it out against some of the top developments in the region at a glittering award ceremony to be held at the New Dock Hall in Leeds on Thursday, 28 September 2017. The ceremony will be hosted by TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith and will celebrate the fantastic work by developers, agencies, advisers and architects across Yorkshire and the Humber over the past year.
Recognising achievements across the spectrum, the evening is a highlight in the region’s property industry calendar, with 600 of the Yorkshire property industry’s movers and shakers gathering at last year’s dinner.