Peterborough City Council Faces Pressure to Protect Hilton Garden Inn as High-Quality Hotel

Peterborough City Council is facing pressure to ensure the unfinished Hilton Garden Inn is used as a high-quality hotel, following a warning from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor Paul Bristow. The council is seeking to sell the 160-bedroom building to the highest bidder to ease its financial woes, despite concerns that it may be repurposed for asylum seekers. The decision is to be reviewed at a council meeting on October 20.

Key Takeaways:

• The Hilton Garden Inn was originally presented as a landmark development, a high-quality destination with hotel rooms and a rooftop sky bar overlooking the Cathedral and river, intended to raise the city's profile and act as a catalyst for wider regeneration across Fletton Quays.
• The original loan for the project was £15 million, agreed in 2017, with the first drawdown in May 2020. The loan was due to be repaid by April 2022, but the developer ran out of money and construction work stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rising construction costs.
• The council took the developer into administration in October 2023, and after months of considering various options, agreed to sell the building to a buyer that will deliver the best value to the local authority.
• Combined Authority Mayor Paul Bristow has warned that the hotel could end up in the same plight as the Dragonfly Hotel in Thorpe Meadows, which is being used as a refuge for asylum seekers.
• Councillor Mohammed Jamil, the deputy leader of the Labour group and cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, has stated that the council cannot limit the amount it might be able to get for the hotel by trying to place restrictions on its use.
• The council's ruling cabinet agreed on October 2 that the 160-bedroom building should be sold, and this decision is to be reviewed on October 20 after being 'called in' by three councillors.

Statistics:

• The original loan for the Hilton Garden Inn was £15 million.
• The council has agreed to sell the building to a buyer that will deliver the best value to the local authority.
• The council is expected to pay £40,000 in interest on the loan each month.
• The construction costs of the hotel are estimated to be over £10 million.

Sources:

• Letter from Combined Authority Mayor Paul Bristow to the council's chief executive Matt Gladstone, October 15, 2025.
• Statement from Councillor Mohammed Jamil, October 15, 2025.
• Report on the Council's website, September 25, 2017.