PLANNING permission has been submitted to extend the Savoy Hotel into neighbouring vacant retail units on both Henry Street and Bedford Row. The proposed development will include 28 new bedrooms, a café/restaurant, bar, meeting and activity spaces, with the buildings internally connected to the existing hotel.
The submission by Kirkland Investments to Limerick City and County Council reveals exciting plans to give the city centre a new lease of life.
Included in the application are plans to amalgamate both No. 8 and No. 9 Henry Street to open a new café/restaurant on the ground and mezzanine floors, providing both hot and cold food to customers that can be consumed both on and off the premises.
These units used to hold the Laura Ashley store, which has been closed since 2018, and the vacant former Techstar IT store beside it.
The application also outlines plans to transform the basement and ground floor of No. 7 Bedford Row/Henry Street, the former Dealz store which closed earlier this year, to provide multi-media/activity spaces, a licensed bar and meeting rooms.
The plans also include the old Central Shoes, Noel’s Menswear, and Schuh stores on Bedford Row, all of which have closed within the last two years. The proposal outlines linking the first floors of these units to those in the units on Henry Street to create 28 new bedrooms for the Savoy.
Other plans include a new canopy stretching from the hotel’s new main entrance across No.7, No.8 and No.9 Henry Street, new Savoy Hotel signage across Henry Street and Bedford Row, an extension to the hotel bar’s existing winter garden, and five bicycle parking stands.
The Savoy Hotel, named after Henry Street’s former iconic theatre, was opened in 2007 as a five-star, 94-bedroom hotel. In 2026, it was acquired by the Moran Hotel Group, owners of the famous Red Cow Moran Hotel in Dublin, with deep ties to Limerick.
At a time where businesses continue to close their doors across Limerick City Centre, this proposed expansion offers a more uplifting development, bringing several recently vacant units in the heart of the city back into use.
According to the application, submissions are open to the public until October 28, 2026, with a decision on the application to be made by Limerick City and County Council on November 18, 2026.