£60m luxury hotel and golf resort planned for County Down
Plans to build a luxury hotel and golf resort in Northern Ireland at an estimated cost of £60m have been approved by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.
The plans, proposed by Wilmar Leisure, at the Hillsborough, County Down site, include a 150-bedroom hotel as well as a championship standard parkland golf course, holiday apartments, conference facilities, a hotel bar and restaurant, and a leisure complex.
The council’s report described a “lack of overnight paid-for accommodation” in the area affecting the village’s tourism economy, adding that Hillsborough has no major accommodation provider, with the nearest hotel in Lisburn City.
The hotel is anticipated to open in 2019.
Trevor Lunn, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Lagan Valley, said: “This is a very welcome and important decision by the committee. The benefits in terms of jobs, training opportunities, tourism and rates income will be huge.
“We will finally see a much-needed luxury hotel and a championship standard parkland golf course with top class leisure facilities attached. When finished, this resort, along with Down Royal racecourse, Hillsborough Castle and eventually Maze development, together with many other local facilities, will move Lisburn forward dramatically as a tourism and business destination.”