Bid to demolish Belfast's ugliest building, Fanum House, up for verdict next week - but water body wants student accommodation move stopped
Plans to demolish the ugliest building in Belfast are due to be decided in days – but a major provincewide body wants them stopped.
A property developer wants to knock down Fanum House on Great Victoria Street, and build a massive student accommodation complex called the Grattan on the site.
The concrete 12-storey brutalist structure is almost 60 years old, but has been lying derelict for for some time and is widely regarded as the ugliest building in the city.
Developer South Bank Square’s demolition bid is due to come before Belfast City Council on Tuesday evening for a final verdict.
But Northern Ireland Water has called on the council to block the plans.
The provincewide body fears that part of Belfast doesn't have enough sewer capacity to cope with the 594 bedrooms the Grattan is slated to contain.
Arguing that planning permission should be refused, NI Water states there could be “significant risks of detrimental effect to the environment and detrimental impact on existing properties” if the student accommodation is allowed to go ahead.
It adds that South Bank Square will have to negotiate with the water body directly to see if they can jointly hammer out alternative arrangements that might work, but warn that elements of the sewer system close to that area of Belfast are already over capacity.
The final decision lies with the council, however.
The plans also involve demolishing nearby Norwood House, a four-storey red brick office building built in the 1980s.
Architects acting on behalf of the developer argue that both Fanum and Norwood are ‘very much of their time and have little architectural interest’, yet can’t be easily repurposed.
Constructed in 1965, at the time Fanum House was the second highest building in Belfast, and was once home to RTE and the Irish Times.
But it has suffered from a lack of maintenance, made worse by the building falling into disuse.
The developer’s architects say it doesn’t meet current safety standards, plus its exterior is damaged and weathered while the interior design is compact with low ceilings.
Stormont’s Historic Environment Division, which looks after notable buildings, agrees that Fanum House can go, stating they’re content with the demolition proposal.
Towering at 17 storeys high, in addition to 594 bedrooms the Grattan will boast a range of on-site amenities including a café, residents lounge, fitness suite, business hub and landscaped roof terraces.
South Bank Square states the development will provide much-needed high quality student beds in a prime location close to the new Belfast Grand Central Station, and within walking distance of both Queen’s and Ulster universities.
When plans were filed earlier this year, the developer’s managing director, Martin Mallon, said: “We hope for a timely progression through Belfast City Council’s planning procedures to enable us to address the pressing need for additional student rooms, and to help regenerate this critical area south of the city centre.”
Almost a year ago, the council approved plans for a separate student accommodation complex next to the site of Fanum House.
That project will see popular Dublin Road student pub Filthy McNasty’s demolished to make way for 11-storey block over around 200 bedrooms.
They’re both part of an ongoing boom in student accommodation schemes in the heart of Belfast over the past few years.