A BELFAST campaign group has expressed "extreme disappointment" that council planners have approved a large proportion of the £400 million urban regeneration project, formerly known as Royal Exchange.
Last week Belfast City Council planning committee approved out of the 12 associated applications for phase 1b of the redevelopment of land in the north east of the city centre. The developer Castlebrooke Investments has said almost 6,000 permanent jobs are set to be created by the new office, retail and leisure space, which also features two hotels, the re-integration and refurbishment of seven listed buildings, three new public realm spaces and a 22-storey tower block.
Opposition, however remains strong to the £400m development and at last week's planning committee, a number of councillors and representatives from campaign groups Save Cathedral Quarter group and Ulster Architectural Heritage outlined their discontent.
In a statement released on Sunday following the council approval, the #SaveCQ campaign group, which has been galvanising public awareness of the current Royal Exchange development proposal in Belfast city centre over the past 12 months, expressed its “extreme disappointment” that Phase 1b of the scheme has been granted planning consent, but vowed to keep fighting.
Chair Rebekah McCabe said they are favour of development, but not if it damages the face and character of the city centre.
“Planning powers have been devolved from government since 2015 and the Royal Exchange scheme is the first real chance for Belfast City Council to put its own stamp on what the council and its people want for the city. We are in favour of development which helps to support the council’s vision for the city, however the Phase 1b application and the current overall outline of the Royal Exchange scheme both jar with those ambitions on numerous policy grounds, including the impact on listed buildings, housing provision, and building height."
The group has vowed to continue the fight and believe it is far from a losing battle.
"The developers are applying for planning permission for this scheme in separate phases and asked the planning committee to consider phase 1b in isolation from the rest of the scheme. While the developers may consider that this isolated decision - which has to be signed off by the Department of Infrastructure - gives them the green light for the overall development, our fight will continue with the current overall outline of the scheme which has not yet been considered by the planning Committee. Our hope for the next phase of planning applications is that the council is empowered to apply more robust judgement for the good of the city and its people."
Due to the size and extent of the Belfast development, eight of the 11 associated applications of phase 1b must now be signed off by the Department for Infrastructure before moving forward.
