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Hostel at former Labour Party HQ gets approval for 80-bed extension

The Safestay hostel at Elephant and Castle is set to undergo significant expansion after the hospitality chain was granted planning consent from Southwark Council.

Work on the £16m contemporary hostel, which is housed within the listed former headquarters of the Labour Party, is due to begin in early 2017 and will entail the addition of a further 80 beds along with a rework of the lower ground floor and beverage areas.

In total the work will swell the internal area of the hostel to 5,000 sq ft and bump up the total number of beds at the hostel, which was the hostel brand’s first venue, to 493 beds.

Larry Lipman, who is Group Chairman at Safestay, said that the works would help to ‘drive further value’ at its Elephant and Castle site which had proven a hit with customers.

He added: “The works, which will commence in 2017, will see accommodation added as a blend of private rooms and smaller en suite dormitories. It will allow the hostel to grow with strong margins generated from the increased capacity although there will be some disruption during the works, which will be timed to minimise the impact.

“We are also taking the opportunity to enhance the food and beverage space to further strengthen our non-accommodation revenues.”

Safestay currently owns four UK hostels with two in London and one each in Edinburgh and York.

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