Safety barrier at derelict building an 'absolute eyesore'

Businesses have raised disruption concerns over an "eyesore" safety barrier erected at a derelict building in Belfast city centre.

The metal fencing has closed off a section of the footpath on Donegall Street and limited part of it to a single lane of traffic.

The disused building forms part of the controversial Tribeca project - a 12-acre site that has become increasingly run down after a decade of little progress.

Stormont's Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said the road was partially closed "on safety grounds", while Belfast City Council said it was "liaising with the owner to determine appropriate next steps".

Castlebrooke Investments, which has owned the site next to St Anne's Cathedral since 2016, was approached for comment.

The barrier was erected nearly a month ago and includes signs that read: "Dangerous structure - Keep out."

Deirdre Robb, chief executive of the art gallery Belfast Exposed which is opposite the cordon, described it as an "absolute eyesore".

She said they have received no communication from the council, DfI or owners of the building about the issues.

"Absolutely nothing, so we're not clear about whether this is a temporary thing or it's going to go on, or whether they're going to take the building down - nothing has been communicated to us," she said.

She added the barrier was having a "negative impact" on the street including a reduction in parking and buses "finding it difficult to get past".

Robb said the stalled redevelopment of the Tribeca site was also affecting business morale.

"It's the fact that there's no accountability. Developers shouldn't be allowed to just abandon buildings," she added.

"This could go on for another 10 years - that's my biggest fear."

Jack Mowbray, who runs a bakery on Donegall Street called Bakarí, expressed concern over the impact on footfall.

"The street is one-way at the moment - that will just make things quieter," he said.

"We rely a lot on passing trade, and people just being able to easily get there. If you make that tricky then they might not travel."

He also said they had to move a planned pavement cafe during the all-Ireland Fleadh to another street as a result of the cordon.

Mowbray added the barrier was "causing everyone on the street to lose out".

Plans to redevelop the area between the cathedral and Royal Avenue have made little progress in the last 20 years.

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

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

Castlebrooke, which has owned the site since 2016, received planning permission in 2020 for an office-led redevelopment scheme.

But it has recently reworked its proposals to focus on housing, with a pre-application planning notice involving 1,000 new homes and two hotels.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor Carl Whyte called for "urgent action" to address the "significant disruption" resulting from the derelict property and safety barrier.

He said that "Belfast is once again paying the price for the Tribeca fiasco".

"The continued failure to redevelop these sites is not only holding Belfast back economically, it is actively damaging the city centre and the experience of those who live, work and visit here."

Green Party councillor Áine Groogan said she was "concerned that almost a month on there has been no apparent progress on the site".

She said that "landowners need to step up and protect the built heritage in their ownership once and for all".

Groogan, who sits on the council's planning committee, added that because the building was in a "conservation area" it cannot be "demolished without a demolition consent application".

She said either the building "needs to be fixed" or otherwise "if it can't be fixed, then we need to see evidence of that".

In a statement Belfast City Council said a cordon was erected at the building on 24 July.

"We are aware of issues in relation to the building and are liaising with the owner to determine appropriate next steps," a spokesperson added.

"The owner has put the cordon in place to protect the public in the interim and council will continue to monitor the situation."

A spokesperson for DfI said: "Belfast City Council and their traffic management contractor approached DfI in advance of the Fleadh to make the department aware of an unsafe building located on Donegall Street.

"They advised that a northbound one-way closure of Donegall Street was required to establish a safety exclusion zone around the building.

"In response to this request, and on safety grounds, the department approved a northbound one-way closure on their behalf with the diversion route for northbound traffic via North Street."

Last year Communities Minister Gordon Lyons told the Stormont assembly he was exploring options for a "deliverable alternative" to the stalled Tribeca project.

Asked for an update, his department said it "continues to engage with Castlebrooke Investments and Belfast City Council on emerging proposals".

"Discussions remain ongoing, with a focus on securing a viable and deliverable outcome."