ONE of York city centre's most prominent eyesores has been razed to the ground to make way for a new hotel.

Victoria House, on the corner of Micklegate and George Hudson Street, has now all but disappeared, with a £6 million, four-storey hotel set to take its place.

The site of the former Co-op store and a mixture of Victorian and Sixties architecture, the building was described latterly as a "blight on business" by many of the Micklegate traders.

The original plans for a hotel to be built on the site were rejected by city councillors, who believed the designs did not fit in with the buildings in the street.

However, the amended plan, which includes the frame of the existing Co-op building, got the go-ahead in April.

The 104-bedroom Ramada Encore Hotel, which is now under construction, is expected to bring 69 jobs to the city.

Updated: 13:28 Monday, August 13, 2001