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An artist’s impression of the proposed aquarium on Queen’s Road
Belfast city councilors approved plans for a £ 12 million aquarium in Belfast.
The move comes despite concerns raised by Ards and the North Down Council, which said it would affect NI’s existing aquarium, Exploris at Portaferry.
On Wednesday, the council’s executive director wrote to Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, asking her to urgently review the request.
ReefLIVE Ltd will be built on Queen’s Road in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
The firm has previously said that it expects to attract more than 300,000 people each year and expected to open in 2021.
Councilors on the Belfast City Council planning committee approved the project on Wednesday evening, hours after Ards and the North Down Council raised objections.
The committee also approved a planning application scheme to rebuild more than ten acres of downtown Belfast, known as the Tribeca project.
The Exploris Aquarium, with its marine exhibits and a seal sanctuary on the shores of Strangford Lough, has drawn visitors to Portaferry for several decades.
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Pacemaker
A young man admires the underwater view at Exploris in Portaferry
Earlier on Wednesday, Ards and North Down Council Chief Executive Stephen Reid had urged Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon to “call in” the application for the Belfast Aquarium.
In a letter, he said the council was “very concerned” that the Belfast project would negatively affect Exploris and would have “broader ramifications for the town of Portaferry, its hinterland and the district.”
“It appears that the fact that there are current challenges with regard to hiring specialized aquarists has not been taken into account, and the council is concerned about the potential shortage in the job market and potential staffing of Exploris,” adds the letter.
The Department of Infrastructure (DfI) said it is “currently considering” the concerns raised by Ards and the North Down Council.
A spokesman for the department said: “Therefore, no further comment can be made at this stage.”
After the project was approved, the executive director of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Simon Hamilton, tweeted that it was good news and would “create an additional tourist asset” for Belfast.
However, Unionist Ulster Councilor for Ards and North Down Council Philip Smith said Exploris needs to be protected, “despite new competition.”
In 2014, the executive approved £ 1 million in emergency funding to secure Exploris’s future, and it closed for a refurbishment period until 2016.
Keith Thomas, Managing Director of reefLIVE Ltd, said: “We are delighted with Belfast City Council’s decision to approve our aquarium, which has received a great deal of public support since its original announcement last year.
“Our commitment to build our first reefLIVE aquarium in Belfast is testament to the city’s record of tourism excellence and an unwavering confidence that sustained investment in Northern Ireland’s tourism and leisure sector will be vital to the region’s recovery in a post-Covid world. ”
Tribeca
On Wednesday, councilors from the Belfast City Council planning committee also approved a planning application scheme to rebuild more than ten acres of Belfast city center.
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Castlebrooke Investments
Developer Says He Wants to Reuse North Street Arcade
The £ 500 million Tribeca project received the go-ahead, despite objections from activists.
It is centered on the streets between St Anne’s Cathedral and Royal Avenue, which includes historic buildings such as the North Street Arcade.
The Tribeca project is the latest attempt to regenerate this part of the city.
Castlebrooke Developments wants to remodel the area with a combination of office space, commerce and lodging.
But the project has run into difficulties, with the main points of friction around the provision of social housing, public spaces and demolition of the built heritage.
A decision on development in Belfast city center was deferred in July this year.
A revised application was presented to the council’s planning committee Wednesday night.
The councilors had asked for more information on certain issues and, after three hours of debate, voted to approve the request by eight votes to five.
‘Fundamentally flawed’
The acting chairwoman of campaign group SaveCQ said the committee’s majority decision did not serve the “best interests of the people of Belfast.”
The proposal, Agustina Martire said, “remains fundamentally flawed.”
She said: “The current scheme relies heavily on Grade A offices and one-bedroom residential accommodations, the former which will likely follow the same path as the retail sector and the latter which is unsustainable if we want to create a resilient city.” .
‘Moving in the right direction’
But the approval of the plan by the councilors was well received by the District of Commercial Improvement of the Barrio de la Catedral de Destino (BID).
Its vice president, Les Hume, told Good Morning Ulster: “Right now, I think we are moving in the right direction.
“Let’s welcome this, let’s make people’s livelihoods work and value and give a sense of value and purpose, and recognize that our city is a good place to be.
He added: “We are quite happy at this stage that they (the developers) have made enough changes to really deliver what councilors and others are looking to see in that area.”
