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Soho street to be turned into a hotel
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Affairs Editor17.04.08
A millionaire property developer who bought an entire side of a Soho street plans to turn it into a boutique hotel.
Laurence Kirschel paid £6.89 million for the north side of Great Newport Street two years ago.
Now his firm, Consolidated Developments, has lodged plans to convert the block from No 5 - a 17th-century listed town house - to No 9 into a hotel.
Mr Kirschel, 45, lives in Hampstead, where houses typically sell for £5 million. He is estimated to be worth £460 million and was once quoted as saying he had more space in Soho than his long-standing friend Paul Raymond, who died in March.
He is a generous donor to Jewish charities and those working with children and despite his low profile he is said to be one of the most powerful players in the Soho and Covent Garden property markets.
His businesses are involved in a number of high-profile development proposals in central London, including a skyscraper on a site near Centre Point, an international convention centre in the same area and a proposed centre for the music industry.
The planned hotel is on a site which currently houses a language school and the Photographers' Gallery, which is in the process of moving out. It is also home to the West End theatre where modern classics such as Waiting For Godot and The Caretaker had their premieres. The Arts Theatre fears it will not survive if the plans go ahead.
Martin Witts, artistic director and programmer for the theatre, said: "I had a bit of a shock when I saw the drawings. They allow for a smaller theatre, two levels down with no street frontage and no facilities to run three to four shows a day like we do now.
"What they're proposing is basically a village hall. My own view is that it's a smoke screen and no theatre could contemplate taking it on so it will end up as a nightclub."
No one at Consolidated Developments or architects Sheppard Robson was available for comment. An associate of Mr Kirschel said he was out of the country.
The planning application describes the theatre as being "at the heart of the scheme and is a flexible performance space that can allow for a variety of conditions".
However, the plans also show that the amount of space devoted to the theatre would come down by a quarter from 1,688 square metres to 1,262.
A spokesman for Westminster council said: "We are still awaiting outstanding information from the applicant relating to land use and how the scheme would fit into the conservation area.
"We expect that in the next couple of weeks and then there can be a maximum of 13 weeks before it goes to the planning committee. We would expect a decision by the end of the summer."
