Titanic Quarter neighbourhood plans unveiled

Pre application discussions with Belfast City Council are underway regarding an exciting proposal for a new sustainable and shared residential neighbourhood development in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

Lacuna Developments, Watkin Jones Group plc, Titanic Quarter Limited and Belfast Harbour have partnered to deliver the project.

The proposed scheme will accommodate approximately 800 new apartment homes. It will create the first mixed tenure neighbourhood in this area of the city, bringing together private accommodation, from studios up to three-bedroom apartment homes, alongside high quality social and affordable apartment homes, which represent 20% of the development. The ground floor active uses will include workspace, shops, cafes and restaurants, a gym, a pharmacy and crèche with opportunities for the community, arts and cultural sectors.

The plans also include over an acre of public realm in the form of a public square and park, along with a public riverside promenade. These proposals also include private spaces and amenities and private spaces for residents including roof terraces, courtyards, and lounges.

The partners believe the scheme will be one of the most sustainable proposals in the city and aligned with Belfast’s recently published Resilience Strategy, delivering on-site renewable energy production, reduced reliance on cars and investment in active and public transport.

Anthony Best, director at Lacuna Developments, said: “We are delighted to announce this new proposal for Titanic Quarter with our partners. As four key stakeholders in the city, together we are investing in the things that people, business and communities value most: quality, space, community, homes and our environment. As a local developer, we believe this is a positive model for shared community living in Belfast and one of the most ambitious and substantial city centre residential schemes to emerge in recent years, providing much needed homes for people of all ages and backgrounds. We look forward to working with Belfast City Council and the people of Belfast to bring this scheme forward.”

Alex Pease, Chief Investment Officer of Watkin Jones, continued: “Watkin Jones has been creating homes for Belfast since 2015 and we are committed to building places that reflect how people want to live now, and into the future. Our joint proposal is designed to create a sustainable neighbourhood with health and wellbeing at its heart, while fostering a sense of inclusive community and place.

“We are looking to the future but draw on the dynamic history of the Titanic Quarter, a vibrant destination that continues to go from strength to strength. We look forward to working with our partners to engage with the scheme’s future customers within the local community as we move through the consultation and planning stages of this exciting development.”

James Eyre, Commercial Director of Titanic Quarter Ltd, explained: “These exciting new waterfront proposals will build upon our established residential community in Titanic Quarter. We are committed to high quality design and we see this as an opportunity to continue to raise the standards for residential living in the city, which will be complemented with a new public square and riverside promenade.

“In just over a decade Titanic Quarter has gone from masterplan to reality as a thriving and bustling destination. Over 20,000 people live, work, visit and stay in the area daily with more than £600 million of investment completed to date. Construction work is well underway on a major grade A office scheme, Olympic House, and planning approvals have recently been granted for the Hamilton Dock Hotel and reefLIVE Aquarium developments.”

Joe O’Neill, CEO of Belfast Harbour, added: “One of Belfast Harbour’s goals is to support the delivery of the Belfast Agenda. Enabling more people to live within the Harbour Estate and Titanic Quarter will play an important role in achieving that aim. Working with Titanic Quarter Limited, Lacuna and Watkin Jones, we are confident that a desirable and sustainable new neighbourhood can be delivered for the city, creating a place where people want to live, work and invest.”

This residential project is at an early inception stage, and alongside formal pre-application discussions with Belfast City Council, the partnership has begun a series of stakeholder workshops and design reviews to inform its plans.

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