Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on the 21st June, representatives of the Deramore Property Group had provided a presentation on their plans for 41/51 Royal Avenue.  The Group had submitted a planning application to re?develop their premises which was currently going through the consultation process.  The planning application sought to provide 20,000 square foot of retail floor space over the ground and three upper floors. The intention was to provide accommodation for one multiple operator similar to the New Look operation in Donegall Place where a completely new shop had been built behind the original front façade.  The Deramore Property Group’s property had a double frontage on Royal Avenue and Rosemary Street and had been planned to complement any future Royal Exchange Scheme.

            At the aforementioned meeting, the Group had advised the Members that it was seeking to deliver local investment in Belfast City Centre by obtaining support for the removal of 41/51 Royal Avenue from the Royal Exchange Masterplan.  The Department for Social Development would not at this stage confirm whether or not the premises would be excluded from the overall Development Scheme.  The Group’s view was that the scheme would prevent other developments being progressed due to the uncertainty as to when the scheme would be delivered and that was further evidenced by the high level of vacant properties in the area.

            Following the presentation and discussion with representatives of Deramore Property Group on 21st June, the Committee had agreed:

(i)      that the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman (or their nominees), together with one representative from each of the other Party Groupings on the Council, facilitate a meeting between representatives of the Royal Exchange (Belfast) Limited, the Consortium which would be undertaking the Royal Exchange Regeneration project, and the Deramore Property Group in order to ascertain whether a solution could be arrived at which would facilitate all parties; and

(ii)     that a further letter be forwarded to the Minister for Social Development requesting that he meet with an All-Party Deputation from the Council to discuss the Royal Exchange Scheme.

            The Head of Economic Initiatives reported that, subsequently, the Deramore Property Group had held separate meetings with the Director of the Belfast Regeneration Office and a representative of Ewarts Plc, which were part of the development consortium for the Royal Exchange Scheme.  Neither meeting had resulted in Deramore securing the exclusion of their premises from the scheme, the planning application for which was due for submission by 31st October and at which point the development boundary would be in the public domain.  In addition, a further letter had been forwarded to the Minister and a meeting had been arranged for 30th September.  That meeting would afford Members the opportunity to raise with the Minister Deramore’s concerns regarding their own premises and how the development agreement between the Department for Social Development and the Royal Exchange (Belfast) Limited was impacting on other businesses in that part of the City Centre.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.