BELFAST City Council has formally approved outline plans for the creation of a new ‘city neighbourhood’.
Weavers Cross is a largely speculative venture launched by Translink to incorporate the new £175m Belfast Grand Central Station, which will replace the Europa bus station and Great Victoria Street train station.
The outline proposal opens the door for up to 1.3 million sq ft of mixed-use office, residential, hotel and retail/leisure space to be developed across a 30-acre site between the Europa and the West Link.
Estimated to cost almost £320m and take around 20 years to complete, the scheme will require private sector backing.
Belfast City Council’s planning committee formally approved the outline scheme on Wednesday night.
Translink group chief executive Chris Conway said: “As a highly sustainable mixed-use location, it has potential for regeneration, creating space for new homes and employment, with easy access to bus, rail and active travel connections across the city and beyond.
“The development of this major project will make it easier for people living and working at Weavers Cross to lead lives less dependent on the private car, driving modal shift to public and active transport and helping to achieve Northern Ireland’s climate ambitions.
“We look forward to announcing our development partners who will work with us on the delivery of Weavers Cross, to deliver on this ambition over the coming years and will continue to work with all our stakeholders including Belfast City Council, and the local communities as the scheme progresses."
