By Ryan Sands
Councillors will be advised to refuse permission to a proposed ‘luxurious, high-end design hotel and restaurant development’ on Newcastle’s Main Street.
A planners’ report, to be presented at next Wednesday’s (14 January) Planning Committee meeting, recommends that the Arlington Hotel (NI) Limited proposal – which would involve the demolition of Gallagher’s Sports Bar and the neighbouring premises (formerly Pure Chic), and the erection of a 14-unit apartment hotel, restaurant, and golf storage area on a site that includes two properties on Valentia Place – be turned down.
A previous report – published in October 2024, 18 months after the application’s submission – had also earmarked it for refusal. This document stated that planners considered that ‘the aparthotel is a significant building in terms of size, scale and massing in the context of the size of the site’, and that ‘it is deemed to be inappropriate to the site, amounting to overdevelopment of the site, and would be out of character with the surrounding area’.
It also highlighted a consultation response sent by the Department for Communities’ Historic Environment Division (HED) that voiced concern about the proposed development’s ‘close proximity to and its impacts upon’ the nearby Grade B2 listed Newcastle Presbyterian Church.
In November 2024, it was agreed to defer making a decision on the application to allow the applicant time to address concerns raised by the Planning Department. The report for next week’s meeting notes various amendments made to the plans, including the relocation of a rooftop plant room and changes to the rear elevation so that it would include a pitched roof and dormer windows.
‘The middle section of the proposal and the rear section onto Valentia Place still take a block form of design,’ it reads. ‘There is nothing of this scale mid-terrace along this street, and the proposal would be out of character for Newcastle.
‘There has been no attempt to reduce the middle portion of the site, in terms of bulk and massing from this viewpoint, and it will still have an overbearing impact, resulting in unacceptable overshadowing of neighbouring properties. ‘The form is still very similar and is still three-storey in height, and the number of apartrooms still remains at 14, so no reduction in numbers.’ It is highlighted that HED ‘remains of the view that such a proposal would be an undesirable precedent for the town’.
A design statement, submitted by Arlington Hotel (NI) Limited in 2023, stated that the development would be ‘a scheme of architectural quality that will contribute positively to the existing and emerging townscape’.
‘The luxurious, high-end design hotel and restaurant development will offer a unique blend of style, comfort and class,’ the document added. ‘The new development will breathe new life into the area, providing a boost to the local economy and attracting international tourists, including golfing enthusiasts to experience the beauty of Newcastle, County Down, and the surrounding areas.
‘The hotel will be a welcome addition to the area, seamlessly fitting into the surrounding context on Main Street and providing regeneration to the area through job creation and renewed interest in the local area.’ The 2024 planning report pointed out that the applicant’s agent had ‘put forward an economic argument that maintains the development will create both construction and up to 50 operational positions’, adding that ‘the economic benefits of the development are not disputed’.
‘It is considered that, in principle, an aparthotel development on this site could inject a level of vibrancy to the town centre, which is of benefit to both the vitality and viability of the town centre and to the tourist offer in the town; however, this cannot be at the expense or to the detriment of the area by approving an inappropriate scheme,’ it concluded.
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