Multi-million-pound plans for a six-storey hotel and medical centre in Piccadilly are set to get the go-ahead from city councillors.

York company Hollin Hill Properties Ltd wants to build the 84-room hotel and relocate an existing city medical practice on the site of old newspaper offices at the junction of Piccadilly and Mill Street.

The design has been described by council planners as "modernistic", and includes a low-profile aluminium roof, a transparent staircase enclosure on the Piccadilly frontage, and a double-height glazed reception area.

The pale brick building will be just over 20 metres high - 3.5 metres higher than the adjacent Piccadilly Plaza residential development and six metres higher than the old county court building.

Planners - who are recommending approval - say concerns have been raised about the height of the building, but they believe it will not dominate nearby developments.

The hotel is accommodation only, with no public bars or restaurant, and no resident staff. There is also no car parking for hotel guests who will either use public transport or nearby car parks.

Nine ground floor parking spaces would be provided, however, for the doctors' surgery.

Hollin Hill Properties Ltd has agreed to pay for a new layby along the Piccadilly frontage, enabling coaches and taxis to pick up and drop off guests without obstructing vehicle movements along Piccadilly.

The company would also foot the bill for a wider footpath along the Mill Street frontage, and for a pedestrian refuge on the city side of the Mill Street junction.

A report by council planners said it was a prominent site in the conservation area, and care had to be taken between encouraging development and respecting its character.

Although the hotel would be much larger than the existing two-storey building on site, it would fit into the streetscape because of the general larger scale of development in Piccadilly.

The "modernist" design was appropriate to the general flavour and variety of architectural styles of Piccadilly.

Architect Nick Midgley said the design was in keeping with other modern developments in Piccadilly, such as the new hotel approved on the former BMW site.

He said: "Hotel groups see York as a buoyant market, and believe it is a good place to invest because of its stable economy".

The application was being discussed today by the City of York Council's planning committee.

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