Plans to transform the Titanic Pump-House into a whiskey distillery and tourism site has been given the green light by Belfast City Council.
The decision has been welcomed by the drinks company which has pledged to tell city’s ‘glorious’ past.
The project will convert Belfast’s historic, listed Titanic Pump-House building in the heart of Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, along with its neighbouring dry dock into a new whiskey distillery and tourist attraction.
Included in the plans are the installation of three large stills on a mezzanine floor overlooking the original pumping engines which are situated deep in the pump-well.
Titanic Distillers said all the original pump equipment and internal historic features of the building will be retained and available to view as part of a visitor tour.
Adjacent to the Pump-House will be a tourism centre, which will include an on-site ‘speakeasy’ bar and cafe with gift shop, exhibition space and a mezzanine floor with tasting rooms.
First opened in 1911, the building and neighbouring dry dock are the world’s only authentic Titanic landmark.
The dock is where the massive White Star transatlantic liners Olympic and Titanic were constructed.
Titanic Distillers Director Richard Irwin said: “We are very excited that our planning application has been approved.
“Titanic Distillers is inspired by the people who worked in Belfast’s shipyard more than a century ago – and now tourists will be able to walk in their footsteps in the very pump-house and dry dock that represent such an authentic part of the Titanic story and indeed the history of Belfast.”
