A building transformed: Derry's new hotel officially opened this morning

Derry’s new hotel was officially opened this morning. The Bishop’s Gate Hotel is located in the renovated Northern Counties building at Bishop Street. The luxury 31-bedroom Bishop’s Gate Hotel is the latest project of the Inner City Buildings Preservation Trust, a subsidiary of the Inner City Trust which is dedicated to preserving the unique built heritage of the 17th century Walled City. The multi-million pound hotel development involved the complete restoration and refurbishment of the iconic city centre building and adjacent properties in London Street. Once a well-known city centre landmark, the Northern Counties was formerly a private members’ club and base for the city’s business and civic leaders. When the club closed in 2004, the building lay vacant and, by the time the Trust purchased it in 2012, the Grade B2 listed building had already fallen into a state of serious disrepair. Working in close partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Department for Social Development and the Department of the Environment’s Northern Ireland Environment’s Agency, the Trust secured the necessary funding to embark on an ambitious and imaginative project to rescue the historic building, restore its former opulent splendour and bring it back into use. “The Trust aims to bring historically important buildings back into meaningful and economic use. The Bishop’s Gate Hotel is the perfect example of how we can work together to safeguard our historic buildings while promoting social and economic development,” said Helen Quigley, Chief Executive Officer of the Trust. She continued: “Our built heritage is a unique attraction for both tourists and investors and increasingly, it is a source of civic pride for people of all ages. “Breathing new life into such an important historic city centre building will enhance the city as a whole while businesses in the immediate vicinity will benefit from having a luxury hotel on their doorstep.” The new hotel will create 60 jobs.