Stormont Hotel site eyed for retirement complex

The future of the Stormont Hotel in east Belfast has been thrown into doubt after plans were unveiled to turn the Upper Newtownards Road retirement facility.

Summerhill Retirement Developments Ltd is exploring the feasibility of building a care home with assisted living apartments for over 55s.

A statement from Hastings  Group, which owns Stormont Hotel, described it as “a speculative planning exercise being undertaken by a third party”.

It said: “There is no impact on the staff retention of the Stormont Hotel. There will be no discussions in relation to redundancies or hotel closure and all future discussions related to such are subject to Summerhill’s feasibility assessment and continued interest.

“All existing accommodation and event bookings remain unaffected.”

While Hastings said there were no plans to close the hotel, the statement added: “The group does, however acknowledge the external interest in the site’s potential, its benefits and that of the Upper Newtownards Road locale.”

Planning firm Turley, which is conducting a pre-application community consultation on behalf of the applicant, described Summerhill as “a new independent investment-backed venture exploring later living residential opportunities in Northern Ireland”.

Turley said the new firm, incorporated in April 2022, is “led by a team that has decades of experience in later living residential and healthcare development”.

Should the Summerhill scheme go ahead it could eventually see the Hastings Hotels’ portfolio further reduced following the sale of the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle last October to US firm AJ Capital Partners,

It is also understood Hastings has been approached by at least two potential buyers for the Culloden Estate in the Holywood Hills, outside Belfast.

A spokesperson on behalf of Summerhill Retirement Developments Limited: “We look forward to engaging with the local community regarding our proposals for the development of a new retirement living complex on the Upper Newtownards Road.

“With Northern Ireland’s growing ageing population, we believe it is a timely decision to assess the feasibility of these residential and adaptive care proposals that aim to maintain people’s health and independence for longer.”

Further details of the proposed retirement living complex will be presented at a public exhibition event at the Stormont Hotel on Thursday August 18 2022 (3pm-7pm). Full details are on summerhillretirement.co.uk.