Revised Grand Central plan is Hastings biggest ever investment

Hastings Hotels has said that it will invest £53m in its Grand Central Hotel project in Belfast following the granting of revised planning permission earlier this month.

An additional 104 bedrooms are to be added to the hotel under the new plan, bringing the total tall to 305 rooms. This means that the Grand Central will be Northern Ireland’s largest hotel.

Sir Billy Hastings, founder and chairman of the hotel group, said that he was very pleased to hear that permission had been granted for the revised scheme:

“The Grand Central Hotel will be more than a hotel when it opens in mid-2018,” he revealed. “It is a legend reborn and to celebrate this, we have created a building wrap which will be changed at regular intervals before the hotel opens. It will help tell the story of the hotel as it is being built and pay tribute to some of the local companies we are working with who are each playing key roles in helping Hastings Hotels create this major development.”

Howard Hastings, managing director of the group, paid tribute to the expertise of lead construction partner, Graham, and added:

“The structural steel has been fabricated in Lisburn and the cladding is being designed and procured through a company based in Moira. The mechanical and electrical contractors are also local as are the bricklayers, joiners, plasterers and even the tower-crane driver.”

Our picture shows the directors of Hastings Hotels, Howard Hastings, managing director; Allyson McKimm, events director; Aileen Martin, sales director; Julie Hastings, marketing director and Edward Carson, vice-chairman and financial director as they unveil a new building wrap at the site of the Grand Central on Bedford Street.