One of Belfast’s best known pubs The Botanic Inn and the neighbouring Wellington Park Hotel could soon be demolished to make way for student accommodation under plans by its current owner.
The Mooney family has announced a partnership with the Hillsborough-based construction group Graham to repurpose the Malone Road site into 561 residential units for students.
The proposal involves the removal of the existing buildings on the site, including the landmark hotel, which opened in 1955.
Known locally as the ‘Welly Park’, the hotel, which was bombed seven times during the Troubles, was recently rebranded as InnBelfast.
Subject to planning approval, the Mooney family’s landmark student pub ‘The Bot’, will also make way.
The Botanic Inn on Belfast’s Malone Road.
A statement issued on behalf of the family said the nature of hospitality in south Belfast had changed, but said The Botanic Inn would “continue to exist as part of the wider redevelopment”.
However, it’s unlikely that a licensed premises could feature as part of a student accommodation planning proposal.
The statement added: “The Bot is set to be re imagined and modernised with vibrant amenity and recreation space to reflect changing social habits.”
A proposal of application notice (PAN) has been submitted by Graham Investment Projects (GIP), effectively the Co Down group’s development and investment arm.
It offers design, construction and finance, which Graham states makes them “a highly-appealing counterparty to investors”.
The Wellington Park Hotel on Belfast’s Malone Road. The hotel now trades as InnBelfast. PICTURE: MAL McCANN
The Co Down group has also confirmed it plans to bring in the UK’s largest independent student accommodation provider to run it.
It would represent ‘Homes for Students’ first venture in Northern Ireland.
Questions have been raised over the future demand for student accommodation in Belfast following a development surge in the past five years that has introduced more than 4,000 new units into the market.
Planning approval has been granted for another 4,000 units across various sites in the city, with a further 3,000 proposed.
Ulster University told The Irish News last year that there was already enough student accommodation beds in place in the city to meet its current and future needs.
Queen’s University, which develops its own student housing, has its own pipeline of projects.
But the proximity of the Wellington Park site to Queen’s University could make it an attractive proposition for some students.
Graham, which has a strong track record in the sector, is already on site at two Belfast student living schemes due to open later this year, including a 459-unit tower for Queen’s on Dublin Road and 724-unit private venture close to Ulster University.
The developer has also argued that the Malone Road scheme could potentially free up dozens of homes in south Belfast traditionally leased to students.
Commenting on the plans to raze the hotel and pub, Felix Mooney said the nature of the hospitality trade had changed, with a greater emphasis on visitors to the city centre.
The company has faced a number of difficult years since the Covid-19 pandemic, a period which saw it both enter and successfully exit insolvency proceedings.
“We are immensely proud of what the Wellington Park Hotel has achieved over the past 75 years and are deeply grateful to our employees, customers, partners, and the community for their unwavering support,” said Mr Mooney.
“As a group, we believe now is the time to commence the evolution of the site.”