LORD Fink – the former Conservative Party treasurer – has warned that new proposals to turn ex-council offices into a boutique hotel will create a “blot” on King’s Cross.

His frustration surrounds the former Town Hall annexe building recently sold off by Camden Council to help pay for its new office block at 5 Pancras Square.

Rather than demolish the 1970s site, developers for Standard International – one of the world’s leading players in luxury hotels – plan to refurbish the property and build an extension on the roof.

The extra floors will create the “Standard Sky” section of the 250-room hotel where guests will dine on Michelin-star food and enjoy an extra level of luxury, according to draft management plans filed with the council’s planning department.

But the design of the rooftop add-on has hit the wrong note with Lord Fink, who owns an apartment on the other side of the Euston Road.

He said: “Truthfully, the annexe to the Town Hall is one of the ugliest buildings around St Pancras and, although I felt that selling the annexe did not necessarily represent good long-term value for Camden’s ratepayers, I was not too upset to hear it may be demolished.”

But he added that his feelings changed when he saw the designs for the new hotel, adding: “What came as a total surprise to me and many other neighbours was the sheer scale and height of the building, which will create a much larger blot on the area than the current building.”

Lord Stanley Fink

Lord Fink, the Conservative donor who was recently involved in a high-profile row with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband over tax avoidance, added: “I cannot see any other benefit of having another hotel at this location.”

Residents’ groups and conservationists have also filed calls for the hotel chain to abandon the plans on the grounds that the extension is too high and the design – likened to a crown – will look out of place.

Lord Fink is among property owners, like model Lily Cole, who bought homes in the St Pancras Chambers, apartments above the historic St Pancras station. The building’s residents’ association has also protested against the proposed new view from apartment windows.

Among other objections, Richenda Walford, from the Friends of Argyle Square, said the designs “looked top heavy, it looks uncomfortably distended, something like a waistband after Christmas dinner”, adding: “There is no polite way to say this: it’s ugly.”

The transformation of the offices has set the property press abuzz with speculation over how a much-maligned 1970s council building, which Camden sold partly because of the high cost of maintenance and repairs, has survived the wrecking ball to become a high-class hotel. 

Standard International has a worldwide reputation for its quality and popularity among celebrities. Its head is the trend-setting hotelier Andre Balazs. 

As part of their application to the council’s planning department, developers have submitted a report from historic building consultants Donald Insall Association, which says: “The unashamedly modern addition has sought to unlock the architectural quality of the building’s exposed structural style and sculptural form and enhance its Brutalist architectural style, emphasising the verticality of the bays and creating a landmark building which, as a whole, would contribute positively to the character of the conservation areas and be a worthy neighbour to the outstanding listed buildings which surround it.”