Councillors in Leeds have unanimously rejected plans for a new 14-storey, 150-room Hilton Hotel in the city's Clarence Dock area.

The council's planning department considered that the hotel, part of a proposed £20m development by Cubic Acquisitions which would have also included office space and a basement car park, would be too tall for the area and would compete with existing city centre hotels. Concerns were also raised about the hotel's sustainability, about night time transport provision to the area and about recent flooding problems experienced locally.

A suggestion by Cubic Acquisitions that the development be reduced to eight storeys was also turned down, with the comment that it would still be inappropriate for the Clarence Dock area. The refusal comes despite support from nearby businesses - including the Royal Armouries, Clarence Dock Casino, and the Aire Valley Leeds project - which believe that the new hotel would have boosted tourism to the area.

Image of Clarence Dock courtesy of Bob Peters, Leeds