£4.9 million grant for Belfast heritage project

A £4.9 MILLION grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will enable the restoration of the derelict Harland and Wolff drawing offices where the Titanic was designed. It is part of a scheme to develop build a four-star, 84-bedroom hotel on the site of the shipbuilder’s former headquarters building in Belfast.

The Harland and Wolff headquarters building was the control centre of the world’s largest shipyard, where Belfast workers designed and built more than 1,000 vessels including the White Star Olympic Class Liners – Olympic, Titanic and Britannic – and naval warships.

The building has been vacant since 1989 and has been considered ‘at risk’ for almost a decade.

The HLF grant will specifically focus on developing the two drawing offices as spaces for public use.

Paul Mullan, head of HLF Northern Ireland, said: ‘This is an exciting project that will see one of Belfast’s most historic buildings re-born as a major tourist destination. This, like many of the city’s historic buildings, has incredible potential to act as a driver of regeneration and economic growth.’

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Picture Credit: From Top - "H&W Drawing office" via HLF; "The Harland and Wolff repair dock by night" by Ross via Wikimedia Commons