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A plan has been forwarded for a new 41-bedroom hotel off Royal Avenue in the heart of Belfast City Centre . Belfast City Council planning officers are processing an application for the “retention, conversion, refurbishment and change of use” of an existing office building and two vacant retail units for the use of a 41-bedroom hotel and café at 20 Rosemary Street. The plan, by a Holywood-registered company, involves the extension of the small fifth floor on the existing L-shaped building to a much larger full-sized floor. The building steps down in height and presents as three storeys to the rear. READ MORE: West Belfast mill to be demolished for apartments despite local objections READ MORE: New housing estate including 58 semi-detached homes approved for West Belfast The site, besides the famous Fresh Garbage shop, comprises the former ASM office building which wraps around Winecellar Entry, where Belfast’s oldest pub, White’s Tavern, is located. The applicant’s agent, Turley, writes in the application’s planning statement: “The proposed development will provide high-quality boutique accommodation to meet growing demand for overnight stays in Belfast City and support Belfast’s tourism and business sectors. “The tourism and hospitality sector’s support for increased overnight visitor accommodation within the city centre, and the need to grow the evening and night-time economy, are all explicit policy objectives of the Belfast Plan Strategy. “The Department for the Economy’s recent Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland 10 Year Plan sets out the strategic aim of increasing the value of tourism to the Northern Ireland economy by 50 percent to 75 percent compared to 2019. (This equates to) growth of 4 percent to 6 percent per annum. “The Belfast Agenda aims to increase the value of tourism in Belfast from £419 million in 2019 to £800 million in 2030. To meet these targets, Visit Belfast’s Tourism Strategy projects that an additional 600 hotel rooms are required by 2030.” The plan for the new hotel is 10 bedrooms on each of the first three floors, seven on the fourth floor and four on the fifth floor. A new direct pedestrian access to the ground floor reception area is proposed from Rosemary Street and dedicated access to the ground floor café is also proposed from Winecellar Entry. The proposal to extend the fifth floor, which currently comprises a small area of plant and storage space, will be to accommodate three studio bedrooms each with private balconies. The planning statement says: “The sympathetic design, conversion and extension of the existing building prioritises the approach to sustainable design, improved interaction with the surrounding public realm and the sensitive adaptation of the existing building to ensure its long-term viability and positive impact on the streetscape and conservation area.” It adds: “The proposed development respects the built form of the area by way of height, scale, form, legibility and detailing, with the extension to the fifth floor limited to the infilling of space which does not exceed the height of the existing building. “Key views of the site west and east bound along Rosemary Street will not be negatively affected nor will the setting of nearby listed buildings in accordance with (policy), including the First Presbyterian Church and Central Hall, Gordon House and the Masonic Hall at No.15 Rosemary Street. “The proposed development will respond positively to its local context and re-animate Rosemary Street through the retention and conversion of a vacant building in the city centre and the introduction of active ground floor frontage, ensuring vibrancy throughout the day in accordance with the requirements of (policy).” The application is currently waiting for the statutory consultation responses, and no date has been confirmed for hearing at the Belfast City Council Planning Committee. Consultation is also currently underway for another hotel application in the vicinity, where there is a proposal to convert offices at 14 to18 High Street, and Nos. 2 to 4 Winecellar Entry to a 36 bedroom hotel. 1 to 9 Winecellar Entry, Belfast was recently granted permission for the conversion of vacant office space into eight short-term let bedrooms on the first and second floors. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter
