Plans for a £10m project in Co Antrim which would create around 92 full-time jobs have been submitted to the Department for Infrastructure.
Northern Ireland’s largest hotel group have lodged revised plans to turn the former Londonderry Hotel in Portrush into a new development.
The updated scheme, designed by conservation specialists Consarc Architects, will provide 83 guest bedrooms and public areas which will include a cafe, bar and restaurant.
The original planning application was approved by the Planning Committee at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in January 2019.
Andras Hotels, which also owns the Crowne Plaza in Belfast, said they hope to have the project completed for the return of Golf's Open Championship in 2025.
The group said they also aim to redevelop the former Northern Bank site, located opposite the hotel site, into serviced apartments.
Director of Andras Hotels, Rajesh Rana, said the group were "excited" at the prospect of moving towards a start date for the hotel.
He added: "After lengthy discussions with the planners in the Department for Infrastructure, our architects have come up with a solution that marks a turning point in this story.
"The designs they have submitted are heritage-led and will make a genuinely positive contribution to this listed building. This sensitive intervention preserves the best of the remaining fabric of the building while providing much-needed tourism accommodation for the North Coast.
"Our investment across the two buildings will total £10m and will create 48 jobs during the construction phase and a further 48 direct and indirect jobs when open and trading.
"Our target now is to complete the project by the start of 2025 to be ready for the return of the Open Championship.
"That sounds a long way off, but with a lengthy lead-in time for detail design and contractor tendering, and up to 22 months for site works, we really need to have planning permission granted this spring to hit that target.
"The Council voted in favour of the planning application three years ago. We are now hopeful that the Department for Infrastructure will give the go-ahead to this important project.
"So many people have commented on how much Portrush and the North Coast need this hotel and I am optimistic we can soon deliver this for the area."
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