Plan to radically revamp Wyse Byse building at The Arches in east Belfast to create block of social housing

The plan is to change the use of the first and second floor of The Arches building - a large corner block which has housed the Northern Irish department store since 1984 – to provide 39 apartments.

The second floor would then be extended to add six apartments and a new third floor would be built containing another 19.

The Arches is at a crucial junction in east Belfast between the Newtownards Road and the Holywood Road.

It is sometimes known as the Holywood Arches, named after the old railway arches which used to be in the area; it has been somewhat gentrified in recent years, with a big investment to create 'CS Lewis Square', a plaza featuring characters from the world of Narnia.

A report from the developers says that "the existing retail uses on the ground floor of The Arches Centre, including the well-known Wyse Byse department store, will not be affected and will remain open for business as usual".

It goes on to add that "The Arches Centre is a longstanding facility adjacent to Connswater Retail Park in East Belfast.

"It has been home to a number of uses over the past number of decades including retail, commercial, healthcare, the arts and more. In recent years, however, only the ground floor of the three-storey building has remained active in its usage, with the upper floors falling into disuse.

"At present these floors are generally used for storage or are vacated office space.

"The current proposal aims to secure a change of use for these under-utilised upper floors to transform them into social housing, with the addition of a new third floor (fourth storey) to provide additional units…

"The proposed development is comprised completely of social housing."

As of last week, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has been consulted on the plans, and its response is awaited.