PLANNING officials have recommended that a £117 million residential apartment scheme can be built next to Belfast’s biggest tourist attraction.
The Loft Lines waterfront development includes 778 units in three blocks, the tallest of which will reach 17 storeys, or 57 metres, well above the neighbouring 38.5 metre Titanic Belfast museum.
Subject to Belfast City Council’s planning committee signing off on the recommendation this Thursday, it will become the third tallest residential building in the city alongside the 57 metre Boat development across the River Lagan at Queen’s Square.
Lacuna Developments and the Watkin Jones Group are joint developers for the Loft Lines scheme, with Belfast Harbour and Titanic Quarter Limited signed on as project partners.
Two of the blocks will be developed as build-to-rent apartments, containing 627 units.
The third block will comprise 78 social housing units, with the remaining 73 to be delivered by Choice Housing Association subsidiary ‘Maple and May’. According to the report prepared for Thursday’s planning meeting, the 73 units will not be classed as affordable housing, but are “expected to be lower cost than the build to rent units”.
Of the build-to-rent units, 401 will be 50 square metre one-bed apartments, with 204 two-bedroom and 22 with three-bedrooms.
The proposal also provides for flexible commercial/community pace, public realm and a waterfront promenade.
However, the plans include provision for just 107 car parking spaces within the blocks and 38 on-street spaces.
The report states that “parking provision is significantly lower than the parking standard normally required for this location”, citing the developer’s position that basement parking would be too expensive to build.
Instead, the developer has promoted ‘sustainable travel’ in part as justification.
Accordingly, 480 cycle spaces are included in the proposal.
The proposal, submitted under the name of the Welsh-registered Pirrie Belfast Limtied, has been recommended for approval, but with a lengthy list of conditions and a section 76 planning agreement between the council and the developer.
The agreement is expected to include provisions regarding the management of the build-to-rent units and the period for which the blocks must remain as ‘build to rent’ accommodation.
It’s also expected to include a £400,000 travel fund and a ‘green travel pot’ of around £155,000.
