Delayed start for Liverpool's first five-star hotel
Work on Liverpool's first five-star hotel is expected to start later this year, according to the man behind the scheme.
Construction on the £40m, 138-room hotel in what used to be Martins Bank was supposed to start in autumn last year after gaining planning approval from Liverpool council in June 2014.
However a year after planning permission had been granted, work has still not begun.
Bernard Byrne, managing director of developer Castlewood, told the Liverpool Echo that he still planned to open a hotel in the former bank.
"It's been a bit slower than we expected. We expect to be on site by the end of the year. We are getting there," he told the paper.
The hotel is set to include two restaurants, three bars, a spa, and conference and banqueting rooms.
The building in which it is due to sit was designed by Herbert Rowse and opened as the headquarters of Martins Bank in 1932.
It is not clear at this stage who will operate the hotel but when Castlewood originally announced plans for it back in 2011, luxury brand Waldorf Astoria, part of Hilton Worldwide, was tipped to be in the running.
