Council set to rule on Grand Central expansion plan

Council set to rule on Grand Central expansion plan

Belfast City Council will shortly consider an application from Hastings Hotels for an expansion to its still-to-be-built Grand Central Hotel on Bedford Street.

The council’s planning committee will consider a recommendation to approve the addition of 100 bedrooms to the hotel plans when it meets on April 11.

If the proposal gets the green light, the Grand Central will have a new total of 304 bedrooms as well as 16 serviced apartments in the towering 24-storey venue. The first floor of the building will be used as office space and the amount of space on the ground floor earmarked for retail use is to be slightly reduced.

The new hotel will resurrect the Grand Central name. The original venue, which opened in 1893 and closed in 1972 was a by-word for luxury in the city and hosted many high profile guests including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during the sixties.

Architects on the new project, RRP, have said that the new additions to the plans for Bedford Street can be considered an “evolution of the previous concept” and have been made in response to other successful applications for office accommodation in the city.

Planners have recommended to the city council that it accept the revised application which, they say, will enhance the existing structure and help bring the landmark building back into use.