Tribeca: Opinions sought on new Belfast redevelopment plan

Plans to redevelop the area which lies between St Anne’s Cathedral and Royal Avenue have made little progress in the last 20 years.

A retail-led scheme called Royal Exchange scheme was first proposed by a different developer in 2006.

It was granted planning permission, but stalled because of the property crash.

In 2016, the scheme was sold to Castlebrooke by the Cerberus investment fund which had control of the loans underlying the properties.

Castlebrooke got planning permission for the office-led Tribeca scheme in 2020 but the rise of working from home made that plan increasingly unviable.

The proposals included office space, apartments and some retail use.

Last year the company sold some of its properties to Belfast City Council.

The council paid about £3m for the historic Assembly Rooms and some adjacent properties.

Castlebrooke said its new plan would create a new street and a number of alleyways and public spaces to link the neighbourhood into the wider city centre street network.

It also envisages a “revitalised” Writers’ Square, a public space directly opposite the cathedral.

The use of Writers’ Square has been a point of contention between Castlebrooke and Stormont’s Department for Communities which owns it.

Castlebrooke will hold an in-person public consultation event on 30 June and 1 July at the Masonic Hall on Rosemary Street.

It is then intending to submit a full planning application in the autumn.