Planning permission has been granted for the next phase of Belfast’s landmark Titanic Quarter development.

Design consultancy Turley Associates said it had received approval for a mixed-use scheme and the development of Hamilton Dock on behalf of Titanic Quarter and Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The latest phase will include shops, offices, 380 apartments, restaurants, cafes and a doctor’s surgery and will be linked with first phase of the Arc scheme by a public area.

Andy Young, senior planner at Turley Associates, said: “The approval of these two planning applications, along with the recently approved Titanic Signature Project building, will pave the way for construction to begin on this famous and historic area.”

The plans for the redevelopment of Hamilton Dock will see it become home to the SS Nomadic, the last surviving link to the RMS Titanic and the White Star Line.

Sam Heaney, from Titanic Quarter, added: “We’re extremely pleased to see the next stage in the regeneration of the area get the go ahead; the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter will be of great economic benefit to the whole of Northern Ireland.” The Titanic Quarter development has been billed as Ireland's largest development project and when completed is expected to include up to 7,500 apartments, the £97m Titanic tourism project, commercial space, hotels, shops, bars and restaurants.

It was also announced this week that a Titanic-themed boutique hotel is to be created out of the old headquarters of shipbuilders Harland & Wolff, which built the ship.

A planning application has been lodged to turn the listed former Harland and Wolff HQ into a five star 90-bedroom hotel. In January, a separate planning application was lodged for the restoration of two drawing offices where the Titanic's blueprint was drawn up.

The offices form a part of the former shipyard headquarters and the proposal is to make the ornate offices available for public events.

Other major developments in Titanic Quarter include new sites for the Belfast Metropolitan College and the Public Records Office, and a financial services centre in which global banking giant Citigroup is the main tenant. Apartments in the first phase of the Arc scheme have been in the news in recent weeks because buyers who agreed to buy them at the height of the property boom are now struggling to get mortgages to pay for them because lenders’ valuations of the flats have dropped sharply.

Solicitors acting for a group of buyers have called on developers to meet them to reach a solution that will avoid legal action.

sross@belfasttelegraph.co.uk