A hotel at Kingston Bridge House?

In August, Westcombe Group, the developers of Kingston Bridge House, contacted us regarding a new idea: to develop one part of the building into a hotel with restaurant, with the other part being residential. We met with them to find out more and to provide input.

Westcombe is a family-owned firm which develops residential, hotel and commercial properties. They have already developed four hotels which they operate in conjunction with hotel “brands” including a Hampton by Hilton in Shoreditch, Ibis at Heathrow, and a soon-to-be Novotel in Manchester. We understand that this is a standard practice in the hotel industry, rather like franchises.

They said: KBH used to be 225 student rooms. The property has been dormant for 3 years. Nearby the Old Kings Head has been dormant for a number of years and the old HSBC bank next door for even longer. This end of Hampton Wick is pretty dead, and they believe that their hotel/restaurant will help revivify it.

While we can see some potential benefits to Hampton Wick, we expressed concerns about:

• Impact on parking
• Need for signage to respect the conservation area
• Need for affordable housing

The proposal has been refined and is now out for public consultation. Key points to note are:

• 106 bedroom hotel, operated as an “Indigo” (part of IHG)

• Restaurant and bar on the ground floor, open to the public

• Total of 28 residential units of which 10 will be affordable (compared with 70 total and 4 affordable in previous plan)

• Additional floor to be built on each block, set back and in a different material to avoid overbearing appearance

The developers assure us that they have now appointed a reputable firm of architects to work on the project, and that Indigo is a 4-star boutique hotel brand. Click here for the Indigo website.

We strongly encourage everyone to take part in the consultation. Click here for details.

Saturday 21 September – In-person consultation event
Time: 11:30am – 4:00pm
Location: Bullen Hall, KT1 4AT

Tuesday 24 September – Online consultation event
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Online – register here