High-end Derry hotel gets the green light

Derry-Londonderry is to have another boutique hotel after members of Derry City and Strabane District Council this month approved full planning permission and listed building consent for a project at Shipquay Place.

No objections had been received in relation to the application which was tabled this month on behalf of Elm Village Limited, which is owned by prominent local developer, Garvan O’Doherty.

The application covers buildings on the corner of Shipquay Place and Foyle Street, excluding the Gainsborough Bar on the corner and the old Madden’s tobacconist building on Foyle Street.

The new hotel will feature bar and restaurant facilities and a separate Italian eatery.

It is one of a number of hotel projects already planned for the city. Among these are the old Tillie and Henderson factory site on Abercorn Road, which is to be developed by Andras House and another boutique hotel at Ebrington Square in the Waterside which could have as many as 120 bedrooms.

Speaking to LCN following word of the council’s latest approval, Janice Gault of the NI Hotel Federation said that she was pleased to see that financial institutions were once again happy to support quality hotel projects such as the new development in Derry.

Describing the scheme as “very positive news” for the city, she pointed to the Federation’s prediction that by 2018, there will be 10,000 four and five-star hotel bedrooms available across Northern Ireland:

“That gives cities such as Derry the opportunity to increase their hotel business significantly,” she added.

Council chief executive, John Kelpie said that in its new role as local planning authority, the council was pleased to play its part in the provision of new tourist infrastructure in the north-west:

“This proposal is an important development that will enhance and regenerate a listed building that forms part of a key cluster of landmark buildings and spaces that are significant to the special built heritage in our town centre.”

Derry’s city centre manager, Jim Roddy, said that the city needed to be able to cater for the growing number of tourist visitors:

“It’s a growth industry in our city providing much-needed jobs and I think this is a great news story,” added Mr. Roddy. “The city centre hotel managers that I speak to tell me that they are already breaking even more records than in 2013 [City of Culture year]. All you need to do is wall around the centre on any day and see the amount of tourists that are coming here.”