Council to approve £75m overhaul of old Tele building

A £75m PLAN to redevelop the former Belfast Telegraph building is set for approval.

The BelTel LLP consortium, which includes Co Tyrone construction business McAleer & Rushe, is behind the so-called ‘The Sixth’ project.

Its name is derived from the Belfast Telegraph street sellers’ refrain of “Sixth late Tele”, refer- ring to a late edition of the newspaper.

In a report due to go before Belfast City Council’s planning committee, officials recommend giving the major plan the goahead.

It will see the demolition of non-listed buildings on the site, as well as the refurbishment and retention of the listed Seaver building.

The report states that the total floorspace created will be in the region of 340,000 sq ft. The development, which will vary between six and eight storeys, will be dominated by offices, with a ground-floor commercial element for cafes, bars or restaurants.

The plan also includes an arcade between Donegall Street and Little Donegall Street.

McAleer & Rushe, which bought the former Belfast Telegraph building in 2016, has said the scheme has the potential to support 2,000 jobs in the city centre.

It will sit alongside Ulster University’s ongoing major redevelopment of York Street and Castlebrooke’s £500m regeneration scheme in the Cathedral Quarter, which includes a proposal to develop 1.5 million sq ft of mixed-use real estate in the city centre.

In the Belfast City Council report recommending approval for ‘The Sixth’ scheme, the case officer states: “Office uses above ground floor are appropriate to the context and, given the recent residential approvals nearby and the university development, the proposal will add a large office/ daytime working element to the local land-use context.

“Restaurants and bars in the ground floor are welcomed as they will ensure night-time vitality and will encourage local residents and workers to use the building after office hours.”