Charity puts Co Down accommodation on market for £1m
It was first opened in the 1970s to offer respite breaks for those experiencing the worst of the Troubles in urban areas. It was later demolished and rebuilt, reopening in 2016 with 19 en suite bedrooms.
However, the Castle Place building had been shut since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and this week went on sale through selling agents UPS.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "We can confirm that Clare Lodge has been closed for five years and the Society of St Vincent de Paul has now placed it on the market for sale.
"Any proceeds from the sale of the property will be used in the northern region to help alleviate poverty."
A brochure for the property from UPS describes it as a 'substantial and modern commercial premises in the heart of Newcastle, Co Down — perfectly positioned with breath-taking views of the Mourne Mountains and the Irish Sea'.
It adds that the 'versatile property offers immense potential for investors, hoteliers, or developers seeking a landmark building in one of Northern Ireland's most desirable coastal towns'.
As well as 19 bedrooms, there is also a dining room, lounge and reception hall.
There are also three commercial units which had been knocked together to operate as restaurant, which has since shut.
The brochure states that each bedroom is 'fully furnished and finished to a modern standard, offering comfort and privacy for guests'.
Aaron Ferris, a selling agent at UPS, said it had drawn interest from three parties after being on the market since earlier in the week.
"It's perfectly set up for a boutique hotel with 19 bedrooms, all en suite, and a lot of them are family rooms, with a lot having sea views.
'There's a commercial element with three commercial units that were knocked into one and operated as a separate restaurant – but it would be very easy to have a bar or restaurant in it as part of a hotel in future.
"You couldn't built it any better than it is already for use as a hotel.'
He said that the town was busy in general, with other commercial units on the market attracting strong interest.
Mr Ferris said that an investment property on Central Promenade with a cafe and Medicare pharmacy on the ground floor and apartments above it, which is on the market for £730,000, had drawn offers for £610,000.
"There's a lot of viewers waiting in the wings before closing bids in July,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Notorious Kinahan drug cartel introduces McDonald's-style franchise system to flood the streets of Ireland with cocaine
Ireland's notorious Kinahan drugs cartel has introduced a fast-food-style franchise system in its efforts to continue dominating the cocaine trade. The drugs syndicate has muscled its way back to being the dominant force in the Irish cocaine scene in recent months, reasserting itself as the main supplier to almost all major criminal organisations across the country again. Such is their stranglehold on the trade, that many of the gangs who filled some of the holes left by the mobsters when they fled to Dubai in the mid-2010s to exploit the lack of extradition agreement between the UAE and the EU, are also now back on board. Representatives from narcotics networks in Dublin and beyond are believed to have travelled to Dubai to meet high-ranking members of the Kinahan cartel to arrange future shipments directly from them. Those said to have travelled to the Middle East are a Clondalkin gang known as 'The Family' as well as another group who operate from Cabra, who have long been involved in major drug trafficking operations, according to The Times. It is reported that this power play by the Kinahans will now see them operate like a franchise, flooding cocaine to gangs through the streets of Ireland akin to how fast-food suppliers deliver produce to stores in an attempt to eliminate competition. The move may explain the recent decrease in gangland feuds and murders across Ireland, with the street price of the Class A drug also remaining at a stable level after a sharp increase last year. The Kinahan's new network structure is believed to be a repeat - or is at least similar - to how the cartel up bulked itself up during its original network before a series of global law enforcement operations targeted its leadership. Drugs kingpin Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, who ran the UK arm of the Kinahan catrel, is one of the major players to be brought down in recent times. He was jailed for 21 years at Ipswich Crown Court in March 2022 after pleading guilty to conspiring to import class A and B drugs and money laundering offences in July 2020. Fearing the same fate, the cartel's leader Christy 'Dapper Don' Kinahan, 68, and his two sons Daniel, 48, and Christopher Jr, 44, have already devised a contingency plan should the gardai attempt to extradite them from their base in Dubai. The Irish government signed two treaties with UAE representatives which allowed them to extradite suspected organised crime accomplices last October - a move which now has the Kinahans on red alert. Security sources also told The Times that 'Dapper Don' now travels with a bodyguard when in public, such is his paranoia about being snared. Author Mark Galeotti, an expert on multi-country crime, told the publication that the cartel's move to seemingly become a drugs conglomerate made sense - for them. The three are said to have already devised a contingency plan should the gardai attempt to extradite them from their base in Dubai He said: 'If you've got all the architecture, the pipeline, the infrastructure in order to move the drugs and you know where the markets are, why would you abandon that? Isn't it better to trade that out to others who are going to be your proxies in effect?' The Kinahan's global clients are said to include Mexican cartels, Hezbollah and Iran's intelligence services. It is believed that the gang have assets worth around $1.5billion hidden in offshore accounts and in hidden international investments. The cartel was previously headed-up by Liam Byrne, who relocated to Dubai when Garda drug teams began closing in. He was arrested in June 2023 while holidaying in Mallorca and was later extradited to the UK. Byrne, a close friend of 'Dapper Don', was convicted of firearms offences by Britain's National Crime Agency and was released on licence in January. In April 2022, the US Department of State placed up to $5million in rewards for information that leads to each of the arrests and prosecution of 'Dapper Don' and his two sons, branding them the heads of a major international drugs cartel.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Second Brexit referendum won't happen ‘in my lifetime', Neil Kinnock says
The ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who served as Vice-President of the European Commission between 1999 to 2004, warned Brexit had 'inflicted such harm' on Britain A second referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union won't happen "in my lifetime", Neil Kinnock has said. The ex-Labour leader, who served as Vice-President of the European Commission between 1999 to 2004, warned Brexit had "inflicted such harm" on Britain. And he cast doubt on the ability of the government to grasp sustained and high levels of economic growth outside the single market and customs union. His comments come after a poll showed earlier this month nearly half of voters want another EU referendum within five years. Less than a third said they would back Brexit in a new vote. But asked whether he believed there was a possibility of a second vote in his lifetime, Lord Kinnock, 83, replied: "Not in my lifetime, no. It's not going to happen in my lifetime." But he predicted that Britain would join a new European organisation in the future. He told The Mirror: "In my grandchildren's lifetime, probably my children's lifetime, we will be part of a Europe-wide economic and political organisation. "The EU is going through changes as well, of course, as everything does. That will come about because of the reality of proximity. It's by far our biggest market. It was until seven years ago, free of impediment." Lord Kinnock, who campaigned alongside other party leaders to Remain during the 2016 referendum vote, added: "That change is not going to take place while I'm breathing. I just wish it was because it would be for the benefit of our country. "The real patriots are those arguing for the closest possible relationship, economically, politically, and in strategic terms." He praised Keir Starmer's efforts to reset the relationship with Brussels that was left in tatters after years of fractious Brexit negotiations under the Tories. In May, the PM struck a new deal with the bloc, saying it was time to "move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people". Lord Kinnock said: "He's doing it while very rigorously trying to fulfil his mandate not to go back into the single market and customs union." But he warned: "Here's the problem. The government has rightly - absolutely rightly - got ambition to secure sustained, high levels of economic growth. I don't think we can do that outside the single market and customs unions."
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Horse racing goes on strike for the first time in extraordinary move
Four race meetings on September 10 at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park will no longer take place that day and will be rescheduled Horse racing will go on strike on September 10 for the first time in the history of the sport. The extraordinary move is in protest at the Government's proposed betting tax increase. Four race meetings on September 10 at Lingfield Park, Carlisle, Uttoxeter and Kempton Park will no longer take place that day and will be rescheduled. The strike is the day before the start of the historic four-day St Leger festival at Doncaster Racecourse. On the same day, the sport will host a major event in Westminster where senior leaders will be joined by owners, trainers and jockeys to highlight the threat of the Treasury's proposal on an industry which is worth £4.1billion to the UK economy. The shock announcement comes as British Racing's 'Axe the Racing Tax' campaign cranked up a gear in advance of the Autumn Budget. The campaign is urging the Government to scrap the Treasury's proposal to bring existing online betting duties into one single rate. Campaigners say it would have devastating consequences for the nation's second-largest spectator sport that supports 85,000 jobs and which is attended by almost five million people each year. Economic analysis commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has shown that aligning the current 15% tax rate paid by bookies on racing with that of online games of chance – currently taxed at 21% – by harmonising all remote gambling duties, could have a destructive impact on the sport with a £330 million revenue hit to the industry in the first five years, and putting 2,752 jobs at risk in the first year alone. Racing's decision not to race on September 10 is unprecedented. Race meetings in Britain take place on 363 days a year, with the exception of certain seasonal holidays. With the exception of meetings being called off due to adverse weather, equine virus outbreak and national crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, this will be the first time in history that the sport has taken a collective decision not to race in protest at a Government proposal. Brant Dunshea, Chief Executive at the British Horseracing Authority said: 'We have decided to take the unprecedented decision to cancel our planned racing fixtures on 10th September to highlight to Government the serious consequences of the Treasury's tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport. 'British Racing is already in a precarious financial position and research has shown that a tax rise on racing could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it in towns and communities across the country. 'This is the first time that British Racing has chosen not to race due to Government proposals. We haven't taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the Government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport which is a cherished part of Britain's heritage and culture.'
