American actor Robert De Niro has been granted planning permission to build an 83-room boutique hotel in central London.

Westminster City Council has given permission for the development of the Wellington Hotel in Covent Garden.

The plans were announced earlier this year and the hotel will include a spa, a restaurant, a private members' club and retail space.

Commenting in May, the Taxi Driver and Goodfellas star said: "London is one of the most exciting and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

"It makes perfect sense to develop a hotel that represents all of that in the heart of this city in Covent Garden.


Image: An artist's impression of the Wellington Hotel. Pic: Capital & Counties Properties PLC

"The Wellington Hotel would honour the heritage of the area, while bringing the best of what we've done in New York to London."

Construction of the hotel will involve knocking through six buildings, three of which are Grade II-listed, in Wellington Street, Tavistock Street, Burleigh Street and Exeter Street.

Additions to the site will include a new terrace area and courtyard.

The nearby London Film Museum supports the development.

Its chief executive, Jonathan Sands, said: "The association with one of the most famous actors in the world will also add interest to the film and theatre offering, helping to ensure Covent Garden remains on the to do list of every visitor to our capital."

The council's deputy leader, Councillor Robert Davis, said it could revitalise a "largely forgotten" area of the West End.

He said: "This is one of the finest schemes we have considered for Covent Garden in years.

"The design is of the highest quality and it fits the bill as a Covent Garden building that meshes the new with the old.

"It will be a brand new destination on the 'mean streets' of this largely forgotten part of Covent Garden."

Work is scheduled to begin next year, with the hotel expected to open in 2019.

The 73-year-old actor already owns the Greenwich Hotel in Manhattan in New York.

The five-star hotel attracts an A-List clientele including Heidi Klum, Reese Witherspoon, Lea Michele and Bradley Cooper.