Castlebrooke Investments has secured outline planning for a revised version of its ‘Tribeca’ development in Belfast.
The £500m project aims to regenerate the city’s Cathedral Quarter.
The revised masterplan, which hikes the scheme’s residential allowance while slashing retail capacity, retains more of the area’s historic buildings and substantially reduces the height of an office block. It was approved by Belfast City Council’s planning committee last night.
The council received 443 letters of objection to the development and five letters of support. The key areas of concern include a perceived lack of arts and culture, a lack of affordable and social housing, and disapproval of the name ‘Tribeca’ which also refers to a hipster area of New York.
Castlebrooke Investments owns properties on 12 acres between Royal Avenue and the Cathedral Quarter, a project previously known as Royal Exchange.
The developer, who submitted the planning amendments in September following a voluntary 10-week public consultation, has boosted the scheme’s residential capacity from 211 to 367 units while cutting the maximum retail space from around 370,600 sq ft to circa 107,000 sq ft.
Planning permission has already been granted for the first phase, with the latest approval covering the remaining two thirds of the site.
Jonathan Mitchell, director of Castlebrooke Investments, said: “We have been working on Tribeca Belfast for many years and it is fantastic to see such a significant step forward taking place today.
“We listened to the concerns of interested parties through our voluntary public consultation process, and this effort has been recognised by Belfast City Council.
“Our attention now turns to moving forwards with our detailed plans and beginning work on site as soon as possible.”
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