Lottery funding paves way for Belfast Titanic hotel

The derelict office building in which RMS Titanic was designed is to be developed into a hotel thanks to a £4.9m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Titanic Foundation will use the grant to restore the B+ listed Harland and Wolff Headquarters building on Queen's Island, Belfast, which has been vacant since 1989 and considered ‘at risk' for the past 10 years.

Set to open in 2017, the hotel operator is yet to be announced, although the Titanic Foundation revealed it will be linked to the project's private investors.

The new 84-bedroom boutique hotel will incorporate the old board room, telephony room and entrance lobby. Its design will centre on Belfast's industrial heritage, with fixtures and fitting relating to the local shipbuilding trade.

Central to the scheme is the redevelopment of two historical drawing offices into spaces for public use, the first as flexible heritage space with guided historical tours, the second as a dining room.

Paul Mullan, head of HLF Northern Ireland, said: "This is an exciting project that will see one of Belfast's most historic buildings reborn as a major tourist destination. This, like many of the city's historic buildings, has incredible potential to act as a driver of regeneration and economic growth."

The news comes amid speculation that several major hotel operators are in talks to open sites in Belfast's Titanic Quarter after planning permission was granted for three new hotels last month.

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