The Mayor’s officials have raised “serious concerns“ about plans to demolish the Leicester Square block that hosts an Odeon cinema and the historic Hand & Racquet pub, frequented by Britain’s most famous comedians.
Radisson Edwardian has applied for permission to demolish six buildings and build a 360-bedroom hotel and leisure complex. It would mean the destruction of the Odeon West End, built in the Thirties, which hosts the BFI London Film Festival, and the Victorian pub whose regulars included Tommy Cooper, Tony Hancock and Sid James.
The nine-storey hotel would have a spa with swimming pool, and there would be a new Odeon cinema and banqueting suite below ground.
Westminster council has referred the planning application to the Greater London Authority for guidance because of its scale. In their report GLA planners say they are concerned about the “loss of key heritage assets”, although none of the buildings is listed. They state: “Complete demolition of all buildings … is not in accordance with planning policy, and would cause harm to Leicester Square conservation area”.
They say the cinema façade, the Hand and Racquet pub, and Broadmead House are all “strong positive contributions to the character of the area, and should be retained and restored as part of any redevelopment proposals”. The report raises concerns over “the impact of the proposed building on the setting of Grade I-listed Trafalgar Square, and the Grade II-listed National Gallery”.
Conservation groups opposed to the development wrote to Westminster urging it to reject the application, saying: “The destruction of so many high-quality Victorian, Edwardian and 20th-century buildings will cause great harm.” The Hand & Racquet, built in 1865, once bore a blue plaque, removed after the pub closed four years ago.
It read: “The upstairs became a mecca for comedy, artists such as Tony Hancock, Sid James and Tommy Cooper were often seen quaffing ale.” Cooper would peer through the windows to see who was in, as he tried to avoid buying drinks for people. But everyone would see his fez and follow him in. Hancock scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were regulars and the pub features in his shows.
James Hughes, of the Victorian Society, said: “This is a magnet for tourists.” Radisson is believed to have paid about £100 million last year for the site, between the south side of Leicester Square, Panton Street, St Martin’s Street, Orange Street, and Whitcomb Street.
