Letter: The historic Assembly rooms in Belfast are in a critical state need urgent protection

The Assembly Rooms need urgent help

Belfast’s most historic building, the Assembly Rooms, has long been vacant and designated as ‘at risk’ although it is a listed building.

Now according to a survey undertaken this January its condition is close to catastrophic with dry rot rampant and water ingress accelerating the destruction.

Accordingly we in the Assembly Rooms Alliance call on Belfast City Council to intervene to ensure that immediate remedial action is taken.

The alliance also notes that, vacant and derelict as the building is, it lies as potential prey for arsonists who have already wreaked havoc in the area.

The alliance is glad to note that the council has at last lost patience with Castlebrooke, the supposed developers of the entire Tribeca project which includes the Assembly Rooms, and is now considering vesting.

We note that existing planning permissions for Tribeca are running out and that the developers are applying for renewals of planning permission. Given their failure to undertake any meaningful work in the last five years we see no reason why these renewed applications should be granted.

We have been assured that the council is giving high priority to acquiring the Assembly Rooms whether through vesting or by purchase. That is indeed welcome, though the building must be secured for public use sooner rather than later.

We believe that Castlebrooke can accelerate that process and do the decent thing by donating the building to the people of Belfast.

In the meantime the Assembly Rooms Alliance has developed its own proposals for beneficial public use of the building. There are two aspects to this

The Banking Hall: This is a particularly fine space at the front of the building dating from the 19th century conversion of the building into a bank. It is capable of accommodating an audience of up to 300.

This should provide a semi-permanent display on the remarkable history of the building, one embracing the famous Harp Festival of 1792, the defeat of the proposal to set up a Belfast based slave trading company, the foundation of the Ballast Board, forerunner of Belfast Harbour Commissioners, and the court martials of United Irish prisoners, including Henry Joy McCracken, at the time of the 1798 rebellion This should be demountable to facilitate other major events.

Otherwise the space should provide a multi-purpose venue for cultural, arts, and community events. These might include concerts, conferences, drama, exhibitions, lectures etc/ etc. It would also serve as tour venue.

The rest of the building: Extensive accommodation lies behind the Banking Hall. Our current proposal is that this should accommodate the proposed Museum of the Troubles and Peace (MoTaP). This vision has a wide range of distinguished supporters, and will feature multiple narratives for visitors to explore. .The alliance is aware of other ideas which may well fit in with and complement MoTaP.

The alliance, while supportive of any steps taken by the city council to secure the building, is determined to ensure that its own proposals for the use of the building are taken account of.

If no timely progress is made with regard to acquisition the alliance will seek to achieve this independently.

John Gray,

Convenor, Assembly Rooms Alliance

The Assembly Rooms Alliance was established in February 2023 with the objective ‘to preserve the Assembly Rooms and to secure them for public use as a facility for arts and heritage purposes and for other community uses.’

The Alliance was formed on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding and those involved include a range of cultural organisations, potential users of the building, and individuals with particular expertise.

Reclaim the Enlightenment, a charity founded in 2017, acts as administrator for the Alliance.

For further information contact John Gray at; [email protected]

T. 90290178 M. 07942234512