Skelwith scouts for groups to work on £100m hotel project

Property developer the Skelwith Group is seeking a raft of interior design and architecture specialists for its £100m luxury hotel development in Yorkshire.

The first stage of planning permission for The Flaxby Country Club, a 22 300m2 development, has already been granted. It will incorporate 300 rooms, a luxury spa complex, a bar, three restaurants, conference facilities and boutiques. The next stage, involving detailed planning and layout, is expected to be approved over the next three to four months, says a spokesman for the group.

The architect and interior design consultancies that are appointed to the next stage of the project will be required to work on use of space and how the hotel’s facilities fit together.

‘There are a number of aspects to the project, and we will certainly look at getting in a range of specialists for each thing. We want [the Flaxby] to be a destination,’ says the spokesman. Appointments are expected to be made on a purely credentials and chemistry basis.

‘We are considering consultancies on their credentials, track record and efficiency, on getting the job done on time. Because we are looking at a tight turnaround, and finalising details within the next three to four months, they would have to be able to hit the ground running. It’s also about personality and reputation,’ he adds.

The project is expected to be completed within two years, with public opening planned for early 2011.

The York-based developer claims that The Flaxby Country Club, located between Harrogate, York and Leeds, will be the area’s first five-star development, offering ‘the service and opulence of a Park Lane hotel’.

Skelwith has also been discussing how The Flaxby Country Club – which will sell rooms to investors – can complement the offers of local tourism agencies across Harrogate, Leeds and York.