A BID for a new 60-bed hotel in Bushmills has been approved by the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Portnaboe Ltd was granted outline planning permission for the project on Dunluce Road, which will include a restaurant and function room, on Wednesday.
The company is owned by Ross Sweeney, the son of high profile north coast property developer Seymour Sweeney. Mr Sweeney’s ties to Ian Paisley Jnr prompted the DUP politician to resign from the Executive in 2008.
The developer has indicated the project will represent an investment of £4-5 million, creating 50 jobs and potentially generating up to 15,000 occupied rooms each year.
It has emerged that Invest NI assisted Mr Sweeney’s application by writing to the council. A report prepared for Wednesday’s planning committee meeting at the north coast council disclosed that the letter, dated June 6 2019, was part of the evidence considered by officials in judging whether the application represented a realistic proposal and had the necessary financial support in place.
According to the report: “Invest NI have written in a letter dated 6th June 2019 to confirm the proposal represents a major investment in the tourism industry, and it will be considered for grant aid when permission is granted.”
The same report revealed that 80 per cent of the finance for the project will come from bank and personal equity funding, with the remaining 20 per cent from “grant funding”.
The Sweeney family have been involved in a number of north coast hospitality ventures, including The Nook Restaurant next to the giants Giant’s Causeway and the Bayview Hotel, Portballintrae. The family also runs a number of self-catering properties.
Ross Sweeney’s business interests in Bushmills also includes a Centra grocery store.
The site for the new proposed hotel for Bushmills is on the northern side of Dunluce Road, close to Dunluce School.
Despite being located on the edge of the settlement area of Bushmills, planners said they accepted that there were no suitable opportunities or sites which could accommodate the proposal either in Bushmills or nearby Portballintrae.
Last month, Ross Sweeney’s company Portnaboe Ltd was granted planning permission for a new holiday park for 100 mobile homes and caravan pitches on the opposite side of the road.
The application also provides for a new reception and administrative building on the site, just west of the post-primary school.
