The developer Beannchor are behind the Merchant Hotel and Bullitt Hotel in Belfast, as well as bars in the city such as the Dirty Onion, the National, the Cloth Ear and Ollie’s.
A plan for a new hotel, restaurant and pub in the heart of Belfast City Centre has been approved.
Elected representatives at the Belfast City Council Planning Committee on Tuesday (November 11) approved a plan for a new public house, restaurant, hotel and one retail unit at lands on 10-22 Ann Street, and including 8-10 Crown Entry and 12 Crown Entry. The plan involves an additional two storeys for hotel use at 16 to 22 Ann Street.
The £14million scheme involves a change of use from the current set-up, which contains a restaurant, public house, two retail units and an office, and there will be a change to the external facade.
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The developer is Beannchor Group Ltd, of Hill Street, Belfast. They are promising 150 jobs from the development, with 95 full time employment jobs being created in the hospitality and retail sector once the hotel, restaurant and public bar are operational.
Beannchor are behind the Merchant Hotel and Bullitt Hotel in Belfast, as well as bars in the city such as the Dirty Onion, the National, the Cloth Ear and Ollie’s.
In the proposal, 16 to 22 Ann Street will contain a 41 bedroom hotel. The plan here also involves the amalgamation of the existing two retail units into one with a proposed hotel lobby to the rear leading to the upper floor hotel rooms, including a two storey extension.
12 to 14 Ann Street will have a proposed bar and restaurant which will connect internally to 10 Ann Street, which is itself proposed as a bar connecting to the existing bar located at 8 to 12 Crown Entry.
Council planning officers recommended the application for approval. The planning report states: “The principle of the proposed uses is considered acceptable .. the city centre is deemed an appropriate location for the proposed bar/restaurant/hotel and retail unit. The non-retail uses would not be considered to adversely impact on the primary retail area.
“The proposed extension is considered subservient to the existing building and is sympathetic to both the character of the conservation area and the setting of the surrounding listed buildings. It is considered that the character and appearance of the conservation area would be enhanced.”
They added: “The proposed extension is to the roof of the existing building and will therefore not impact visual gaps between buildings. Given the meaningful setback it is also not considered the proposal will negatively impact the key views into and out of the area. The proposal will only be visible from long range views and the retention of the shoulder height ensures there will not be a negative impact on the conservation area.”
None of the statutory consultees objected apart from NI Water, who recommended refusal due to waste-water network capacity issues. There was one third party objection, which stated the development would lead to a loss of satellite signal to the neighbouring Mermaid Inn.
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