Planning green light for new Waring Hotel
The Waring, a proposed new £8m hotel planned for the Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, has been given the go-ahead by planners.
The 63-bedroom development will be built on the site of the former War Memorial Building on Waring Street.
That building was bought last year for £1.2m by Andrew Graham and Seamus Sweeney, former owners of the city’s Kremlin complex, which they sold in 2014.
They will develop the new hotel across five floors and there may be as many as 60 new full-time jobs when the venue opens towards the end of next year.
Mr. Sweeney said recently that he was delighted with news that the planners had approved the scheme at a time when the city was “on the cusp of such significant growth”:
“With the development of the new Ulster University campus well underway and the anticipated growth from changes to corporation tax in early 2018, plus other major developments such as the expanded Waterfront Hall, The Waring is perfectly placed to take advantage of the growing demand for hotel rooms,” he added.
Mr. Sweeney promised “a designer hotel” which would be as unique as the building itself and aimed at consumers in the younger end of the professional market.
“We’ll be targeting the regular business and weekend travellers coming to enjoy what’s been recently highlighted as one of Europe’s “must visit” destinations,” he added. “Belfast’s reputation as a young, cool, well-educated and vibrant city will be reflected in the laid back and keen-to-please culture that will be central to the hotel’s operation.”
News of the new hotel comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the Belfast hotel market. Demand currently outstrips supply and more than 1000 rooms are expected to be built in the city before 2018.
According to the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, 1.074 hotel rooms are set to be built in Belfast over the next three years and there will be an increase in the amount of luxury accommodation available, with provision in the four and five-star category increasing by around 25 per cent.
The Federation also predicts 15 per cent growth across Northern Ireland as a whole in that time.
Chief executive, Janice Gault, said recently that Belfast’s surging popularity had drawn the city to the attention of a number of international hotel operators:
“International brands such as Marriott have Northern Ireland in their sights,” she added. “The opening of international businesses and the reduction of corporation tax in 2017 will make the region an even more attractive option for investment.”
