House of Fraser to close in Lincoln with uncertainty over future after Radisson Hotels plan expires
House of Fraser will close its branch on Lincoln High Street in May, with clearance sales currently underway.
However, there is uncertainty about what will follow as flagship plans for a four-star hotel on the location have now expired.
Radisson Hotels won permission in 2020 to demolish the building and build a 150-bed ‘lifestyle’ hotel with shops, a restaurant, gym, bar and courtyard garden.
It would have brought 190 jobs to the city and “restart its economy”, the applicant Halifax Pension Nominees Limited claimed.
However, these plans were never realised, possibly due to the disruption caused by the covid pandemic.
The planning permission expired in 2023, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that no fresh applications were ever submitted to replace them.
Both House of Fraser and Radissons have been contacted around what the future holds for the prominent city centre site, but haven’t replied at the time of writing.
The scheme would have included shops on the ground floor, along with a restaurant and a gym in a separate building on Mint Lane.
The application was greeted with fanfare when it was originally approved nearly five years ago.
Council leader Naomi Tweddle (Lab) – then the chair of the planning committee – said: “I look forward to sitting in the courtyard enjoying the sunshine once we can go out again.”
Tim Waring, speaking for the applicant, said: “We think this will be a great opportunity to assist in re-starting the local economy’s recovery that we will be faced with shortly.”
However, there were concerns about how demolition would be managed in such a busy location, and hotel guests would have been forced to use other car parks due to the lack of spaces.
Planning permission lapsed in May 2023, and no official statement was ever provided on why the development didn’t come forwards.
However, many projects faced challenges as construction and energy costs rose sharply during the pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis.
