Planning permission has been granted for a new four-star boutique hotel in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

Belfast City Council’s Planning Committee today approved the application from Titanic Foundation Ltd and Titanic Quarter Ltd, for the conversion and refurbishment of the Harland and Wolff headquarters and drawing offices into a 84-bedroom hotel with heritage-related tourist and event facilities.
It’s the first major application that the committee has approved since council became responsible for planning in April, under Local Government Reform.

Giving the green light to the development, committee chairman Cllr Matt Garrett said it represented another boost for tourism in the city.

“The H&W site and the drawing offices are iconic on the city’s landscape, and it’s exciting that this project will be breathing new life into these beautiful buildings for a whole other generation of visitors and tourists to enjoy,” he said.

“The development work will be sympathetic to the heritage of the buildings in order to preserve the history of the site.”

Cllr Garrett added: “We have seen what a huge success story the Titanic Belfast visitor centre has been and this new development will further enhance the tourism offering in the Titanic Quarter area, so entwined with the city’s shipbuilding history.”

A number of remedial works – including archaeological digs and environmental impact assessments – will have to be carried out at the site before construction work can begin.

Planning permission had already been approved for a 111-bed hotel on the site; however the application was revised and a new one submitted for a 84-bedroom hotel.

It’s understood the development could generate up to 250 jobs during construction and 75 once the hotel opens.

The current buildings on the site were built between 1900-1919 as part of the world famous Harland and Wolff shipyard.

The committee considered a total of 33 applications at tonight’s meeting.

For more information on council’s planning role, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/planning