BELFAST councillors last night gave the green light to a controversial city centre development in the face of a raft of objections from heritage bodies.
Castlebrooke Developments' Tribeca Belfast scheme, which encompasses an area straddling Royal Avenue, North Street and Donegall Street, was granted approval for a revised outline planning application.
The £500m mixed use development covers the area previously earmarked for the Royal Exchange scheme and will involve the demolition of a number of buildings in a conservation area.
The London-based firm plans to retain a series of buildings' facades and restore the North Street Arcade “in a new format”. Its revised application saw the scrapping of plans for a 27-storey tower, potentially Northern Ireland's tallest building.
Castlebrooke chief executive Neil Young said planning approval signalled the "start of a major regeneration for a vital part of Belfast city centre".
Belfast City Council planning officials had already recommended approval which was last night ratified by the council's planning committee.
Despite the developer making a series of significant changes to its original bid, the revised proposal attracted 443 objections.
Castlebrooke says 600 jobs will be created during construction phase and 1,600 jobs when completed.
