Agenda item

            (Councillor Boyle, who was not a member of the Committee but was speaking, declared an interest in relation to this item, insofar as he worked in the housing rental business.)

            The Committee considered an application for the conservation, alteration and extension of the listed Ewart Building and the construction of a 17 Storey (68 metres, 72 metres AOD) new build tower to the rear of the listed building linked to it by a second floor walkway. The case officer advised that the proposal was for office accommodation throughout with ground floor retail in the tower element and also included the completion of new civic square accessed from Franklin Street and Bedford Street and would form a courtyard area with the rear of the Ewart building, the new build tower and the existing Invest NI building.

            She advised that the site was located in Belfast City Centre, within the Commercial Area Character area, the city centre area of archaeological potential and the Linen Conservation Area.

            The case officer advised that after the agenda had been published additional information had been submitted by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS), the Belfast Civic Trust and the applicant:

·        She advised that the UAHS had outlined a range of issues which included the suggestion that the item be removed from the agenda and the Listed Building Consent also brought forward to Planning Committee; the lack of  commitment to the retention of the roof; the retention of floor plates; the inadequacy of information and compliance of this application against PPS6 and unsatisfactory assessment of this application by The Department for Communities Historic Environment Division (HED); the application being contrary to PPS 6 BH10 Demolition of a Listed Building, as referred to in the UAHS objection(June 2015); and the chance of ‘unpredicted’ or ‘unintended’ loss with the removal of large amounts of historic fabric.

·        She outlined the issues which had been raised by the Belfast Civic Trust regarding their support for the UAHS objection, in particular that the structural defect reasons for the demolition had not been substantiated and the proposed development and partial demolition of the building was contrary to PPS 6, BH10 (demolition of a listed building) and BH8 (alterations to listed buildings) and the lack of detailed information, together with the importance of built heritage of the city and its impact on tourism.

·        The case officer informed the Committee, that correspondence had also been received from the applicant, which acknowledged that the UAHS had not have been subject to the same discussions as they had had with the HED and highlighted that the architects and applicant had invited UAHS to visit the site on 25th July, where an update was provided regarding the detail of discussions with the Department and HED. Following the meeting, documents had been issued directly to the UAHS.

            The case officer outlined the response of the Planning Department to the aforementioned issues raised, as outlined in the Late Items Report Pack. She highlighted the consultation work that had taken place between the Planning Department and the HED, and the conditions of the application that had been reworked, as set out in the case officer’s report.

            The case officer also advised that, after the agenda had been published, conditions had been added and reworked, as outlined in the Late Items Report Pack.

            The Director advised the Committee that the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS) had been given the Late Items Report Pack, which outlined the actions and responses to the late representations to consider before the Committee considered the item, in advance of their representation, and the agenda had been reordered to accommodate this.

            The Committee received representation from Ms. N. McVeigh, representing the UAHS, who outlined a range of objections to the proposal which related to the delay and lack of detail made available to the public on the planning portal, and the retention and physical treatment of the building not being guaranteed. She suggested that the application be deferred for a month for full clarity of drawings and necessary development of plans. She indicated that the associated delegated consent was contrary to the scheme of delegation based on the implied demolition.

            Councillors Boyle and Craig outlined their support of the recommendation that the application be approved, and highlighted the need for regeneration, investment, and job creation in the City. 

            Mr. D. Stelfox, representing Consarc Architects, who acted on behalf of the applicants, Bedford Street Enterprises, clarified a number of issues which had been raised by the objector. He advised that further detail was not ready at this stage due to further design testing and outlined the benefits of the proposed application.

Proposal

            Moved by Councillor Mullan,

            Seconded by Councillor Lyons,

      That the Committee, given the issues which had been raised regarding the importance of the historic building and the potential of the site, agrees to defer consideration of the application to enable a site visit to be undertaken to allow the Committee to acquaint itself with the building and the proposal at first hand.

            On a vote by show of hands, four Members voted for the proposal and eight against and it was declared lost.

            Accordingly, the recommendation to approve the proposal was thereupon put to the Committee and the Committee approved the application subject to the imposing of the conditions set out in the case officer’s report and, in accordance with Section 76 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, delegated power to the Director of Planning and Place, to finalise conditions, and in conjunction with the Town Solicitor, enter into discussions with the applicant to explore the scope of any Planning Agreements which might be realised by way of developer contributions and, if so, to enter into such an Agreement on behalf of the Council.