Trocadero 'pod' hotel gets planning green light

The Trocadero in London's Piccadilly could become a Tokyo-style "pod" hotel after council planners gave the scheme the green light.

Westminster Council approved detailed plans to redevelop the Grade II-listed building into a 583-bedroom hotel over seven floors.

Most of the hotel rooms would be windowless pods, echoing a style of hotel popular in Japan, where space is at a premium.

The plans also include proposals for a rooftop bar on the ninth floor, which would be open to the public.

Westminster councillor Heather Acton said: "This scheme will help to breathe new life into one of London's most famous buildings. The Trocadero is historically renowned for bringing entertainment to the city, and a new concept hotel will form a very welcome addition to the area, enabling more people to enjoy the vibrant West End for shopping, entertainment and culture."

The main façade of the listed building will remain intact.

The Trocadero was originally built as an entertainment venue in the seventeenth century, although recent projects to redevelop it have not been so sucessful. In the late 1990s, it was home to the first 3D IMAX cinema in the UK, as well as an arcade game centre called Segaworld, which became Funland in 1999. Funland closed in 2005, when the present owners, Criterion, bought the building, according to the London Evening Standard.

Plans to create a 471-room and subsequently a 495-room hotel on the Trocadero site were originally granted permission in 2008 and 2010.

By Neil Gerrard

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