PLANS to turn Belfast food and drink hub Common Market into a car park have been withdrawn.
The Dunbar Street venue, which opened in the former Arnott’s fruit warehouse in 2021, has quickly become one of the Cathedral Quarter’s most popular venues.
It features a mix of bars, ‘street’ food vendors and live entertainment, all in a beer hall-type setting.
But Carlisle Inns’ permission to use the venue as an entertainment venue is due to expire in 2024.
As a result, Magherafelt-based developer Conway Group lodged plans in November 2022 to turn the site into a temporary short-stay car park.
But the proposal faced significant objections.
The Northern Ireland Planning Portal confirmed the application was withdrawn on July 6.
Read more:
- Eating out: Zeus God of Street Food and Smash Bros at Belfast's Common Market
- Licence granted for new Cathedral Quarter bar and club
The move has been welcomed by Belfast-based Green Party councillor Brian Smyth.
Responding to Thursday’s development, he said: “Six months ago I began the campaign to stop Common Market from being turned into a car park.
“Today the application has been withdrawn, we've won.
“Yet the fight to build a greener, cleaner, fairer city centre goes on. It's about building communities not car parks,” he added.
Developers want to turn Common Market into yet another car park. Is our city centre destined to be crumbling buildings & endless car parks or do we fight this?
— Cllr Brian Smyth (@Briansmyth99) January 5, 2023
The battle is on for the soul of our city.
Register & place an objection in the link:https://t.co/eLJppesOel pic.twitter.com/L7drqP9kAh
