Planners give go-ahead to Downpatrick hotel plans

Planners give go-ahead to Downpatrick hotel plans

6 March 2019

DOWNPATRICK is in line for a major new 51-bedroom hotel.

Planners will next week recommend that the eagerly-anticipated development on the site of the former Abbey Lodge Hotel on the Belfast Road should proceed.

The new three storey hotel — being developed by Inch Abbey Holdings Ltd – features a range of leisure facilities including a swimming pool and health spa.

The recommendation to approve the major new investment, which will create a number of full and part-time jobs, will be tabled at a meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s Planning Committee next Wednesday.

In addition to the swimming pool and health spa, the new hotel will also offer bar, restaurant and conference facilities, a function suite, changing rooms, treatment rooms, fitness suite and a gymnasium.

Nine years ago, a property developer came close to investing in a new 80-bedroom hotel on the same site. While planning permission was secured, the proposal fell through due to the adverse economic circumstances at the town. 

The site was subsequently sold several years ago to a local businessman who is behind the new proposal to redevelop site which has been approved by a range of statutory agencies.

It’s understood access to the proposed new hotel will be via Inch Abbey Road, with parking located to the side and rear of the new 6,400 square metre building. There will also be a dedicated parking area for coaches.

Original plans for the new hotel described finishing the exterior of the building in stone slate, with the accommodation centred around a landscaped courtyard. The proposed hotel development also includes plans to upgrade the Inch Abbey Road junction with the Belfast Road.

News that the exciting new proposal is set to be given the green light next week comes after recent confirmation that planning permission is being sought to provide 12 new hotel rooms in Downpatrick town centre.

The Downpatrick Property Trust is aiming to convert a number of existing flats at the junction of Market Street and Irish Street to provide what is being described as “overflow hotel bedroom accommodation” for nearby Denvir’s Coaching Inn.

The proposal is also seeking permission for several hotel serviced apartments and to convert existing ground floor retail accommodation in Irish Street to a wheelchair accessible bedroom with an en-suite shower and toilet.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council has placed tourism at the top of its agenda and is striving to attract more international visitors to stay overnight across the district. It has highlighted the need for additional hotel accommodation across the district.

Downpatrick councillor Dermot Curran hopes the planners’ recommendation for the Belfast Road site will be approved next week, paving the way for what he described as an “exciting new development” to help increase visitor number, provide new jobs and boost the local economy.

He said the project would create jobs in the construction industry, provide a boost for local builders’ suppliers and act as a catalyst for additional private sector investment.

Cllr Curran added: “There is a need for more bed space in Downpatrick and this new development, which will complement existing provision, is most welcome. The fact that new conference facilities form part of the new hotel proposal is an added boost to the town.

“The new hotel will help the local council with its drive to attract more overnight visitors to the district and I very much look forward to construction work getting underway.”