Creeping through derelict land, the polluted River Lagan had become the symbol of Belfast’s inner-city decay. Cleaned up and with impressive development planned on its banks the Lagan has now become the river of fortune. Keith Shiells assesses what the Laganside development will mean to the city’s property market.
The development of dockland waterfront has made a major contribution to the regeneration of inner cities throughout the UK and North America.
Belfast, with a strong maritime tradition, has extensive harbour and port facilities close to its centre. But, as a result of social and economic changes, land fronting the River Lagan has become derelict or under-utilised, showing the common symptoms of inner-city decline.
In an attempt to encourage regeneration of the city’s waterfront, the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland DOE (NI) in 1987 commissioned the Laganside concept plan as an input for the statutory Belfast urban area plan 2001. As a consequence Laganside Corporation was established in May 1989.
The corporation was established with the objective of securing the regeneration of Belfast’s waterfront and maximising the economic and social benefits to the city of Belfast.
Most of the land within Laganside is in public ownership, the principal landowners being the Belfast city council, DOE (NI), and statutory agencies. In conjunction with the landowners, Laganside Corporation is responsible for preparing broad development guidelines and for promoting development opportunities within the private sector.
The corporation is also responsible for ensuring that the nature and quality of development in the designated areas is in keeping with the vision of the plan. It has a range of statutory powers, including compulsory purchase, but unlike its other UK counterparts it does not have planning responsibility which is vested in the DOE (NI).
Laganside covers a 1.5-mile stretch of the River Lagan from Abercorn Basin to the east of the city centre to Ormeau Bridge to the west. In total, 120 acres have potential for redevelopment.
In terms of development opportunities eight major sites have been identified.
The objective is to encourage a wide variety of land uses in order to integrate the waterfront and the city centre in a commercial and social context.
The first major scheme within Laganside, the £20m Abercorn Centre on the McCausland site commenced construction in 1990. Located in Victoria Street, it is perceived as the gateway to Laganside and comprises over 200,000 sq ft of offices, and parking for 650 cars. Aero Properties is the developer.
Laganside’s flagship scheme, the 16-acre Laganbank site, comprises a new concert hall and conference centre being developed by Belfast city council, a 200-bedroom international hotel, a new bus station, 400,000 sq ft of offices and festival shopping. The marketing campaign to secure a developer produced six submissions, a credible result in difficult conditions. Laganside Corporation has just announced the appointment of the preferred developer — a consortium comprising developer Ewart, O’Hare & McGovern, a local construction company, and the Baltimore-based Enterprise International Development Co. Work on this £100m scheme is due to start in 1992, with a projected completion date of late 1996. Grahams of Dromore has been appointed developer of a 46-unit residential scheme on a 1-acre site at Bridge End.
The Clarendon Dock site is the subject of a study commissioned by Laganside Corporation and Belfast Harbour Commission to determine an overall masterplan. Phase one of the site, envisaged as an office-based scheme, has gone to public competition and three developers have been shortlisted.
The initiatives introduced by the Government to promote development within Laganside are seen as a critical catalyst to securing private-sector investment.
Unlike the Customs House Docks scheme in Dublin where fiscal measures such as reduced corporation tax, rates relief and capital allowances guarantee a demand-led market, Laganside’s efforts are focused on ameliorating the land and its development potential.
Improvements to infrastructure and environmental upgrading are the key public-sector contributions to Laganside. Specific proposals include the new Lagan Weir at a cost of £14m, due for completion in 1992, and a new road and rail bridge at a cost of £65m and due for completion in 1995. Other proposals include continuous riverside walkways and improved water quality. It is estimated that some £100m of public-sector funds will be spent on Laganside. This compares with a total estimated private- and public-sector investment in the region of £500m.
Belfast’s overall regeneration programme, has benefited considerably from public-sector support in the form of and urban development grant from the DOE (NI). Laganside Corporation has the power to award developers a grant for the provision of further infrastructure or when a shortfall can be proven.
In the spirit of partnership the landowners are prepared to take a long-term view on the land transactions. In the early stages of development the ground rent arrangements can be favourable to the developers, with the landowners looking to future returns.
The most significant aspect of Laganside will be its effect on the market for office accmmodation. In Belfast this sector has a cyclical tradition. From 1977 to 1987 virtually no major development took place as demand was negligible and rents were so low that development was not economically viable. During 1988 activity increased through the expansion of banks, professional firms and the Government, and rents have now breached the £10 per sq ft barrier.
It is estimated that some 700,000 sq ft of new offices is under construction. During the past year some 300,000 sq ft of new offices has been let or sold, but this year virtually no new development has commenced as the market is perceived, at least in the short term, as being in oversupply.
The most significant feature is the dependence on the Government to take-up space. In the past two years the Government has acquired some 600,000 sq ft in schemes such as Castle Court, The Plaza, Queens Court and Dorchester House. In fact, the Government has been involved in virtually every major transaction of more than 25,000 sq ft.
The Government still has requirements for a substantial amount of space: DOE (NI) is negotiating for a new 165,000-sq ft headquarters in Adelaide Street; the Department of Social Services is in the process of acquiring 120,000 sq ft at Great Northern Tower, and the Housing Executive 65,000 sq ft in Great Victoria Street.
The first phase of Laganside’s Abercorn Centre is under construction, but to date no lettings have been announced. The most important scheme here, the £100m Laganbank development, contains 400,000 sq ft of offices, but the first phase is unlikely to be available before 1994. The entire scheme is unlikely to be completed before 1996. Clarendon Dock, which is expected to provide up to 150,000 sq ft of offices in its first phase, will not be available until 1994.
The key to Laganside is in the timing of the availability of space. It will not be in competition with the space currently available in Belfast — which should let within the next 12 to 18 months. There is little chance of any major new speculative office development commencing in Belfast during the next two to three years as it will be in a poor position to compete with the attractions of Laganside.
It is highly likely that the Government will support Laganside in some form of office uptake. It is committed to the regeneration of the city centre through the relocation of its civil service departments at Stormont on the outskirts of Belfast. And its planning policy embodied in the Belfast Urban Areas Plan is to prohibit major office development outside the central business district.
Keith Shiells is a director at Lambert Smith Hampton’s Belfast office.
