The application is from Press Up Hospitality Group, which operates boutique, design-led hotels in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The Dean Birmingham will be the first location for The Dean outside of the Republic of Ireland.
According to the planning application, the well-known Corporation Street-venue will be ‘sensitively extended and adapted’ with many of its original features preserved.
The plans also include a 1,500-seat event space in the building’s main hall, two expansive external terraces and a flagship rooftop restaurant with panoramic views across the city.
Built in 1904, the Central Methodist Hall became the Que Club in 1989, attracting major artists such as David Bowie, Daft Punk and Blur.
Despite becoming an important part of Birmingham’s musical and cultural scene, the club went out of use in 2017 and the building declined onto Heritage England’s At Risk Register.
“It is a rare opportunity to contribute to the ongoing story of such an important cultural landmark as Birmingham Central Methodist Hall," says Seamus Lennon of TODD Architects, which drew up the plans.
"Building on our growing portfolio of hospitality and leisure schemes throughout the UK and our specialist knowledge in commercially successful adaptive re-use of buildings, our proposal will deliver a high-quality hotel and leisure destination that will have a transformative impact on the immediate neighbourhood and support Birmingham City Council’s wider regeneration targets.”
