£45m expansion of studio where Nicole Kidman was due to film ‘under review’
TWO major investments worth nearly £100m to extend film studios and build a new residential development are “under review” by developer Belfast Harbour as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it can be revealed.
And the city’s biggest hotel company, Andras House, has also said it expects a new £19m aparthotel it’s planned for Bedford Street to be delayed by six months.
Belfast Harbour intends to spend £45m on quadrupling the size of its film studios at Giant’s Park and to invest up to £50m on a new buy-to-let residential development at City Quays 4.
The studio plans are the latest act in the story of Northern Ireland’s popularity as a location for TV and movie production.
The extended studio, which was due to be finished next year, was to bring 250 construction jobs and support around 1,000 creative industry roles.
When combined with the existing studio, the extension would create the largest studio complex outside the south east of England.
Cult fantasy series Game of Thrones, filmed at Titanic Studios and a string of other spots in Co Down and the north coast, has been the local industry’s biggest success story. The existing Belfast Harbour Studios was to host filming of Viking revenge film The Northman, starring Nicole Kidman, during the spring.
But film production has ground to a halt in Northern Ireland and further afield as a result of Covid-19.
A spokesman for Belfast Harbour said: “We’re still finalising the consenting process through Belfast City Council for the new extension to Belfast Harbour Studios and in parallel we will keep our investment under review, taking into consideration the timing of recovery in the sector after the current crisis.
“Along with our partners at NI Screen, we continue to engage with production companies to keep the profile of Belfast as a filming location high.”
Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen,
the publicly-funded body which supports the film industry here, said he’s hopeful that the continued rise of on-demand services such as Disney, Amazon Prime and Netflix will ensure demand for more studio space.
“As with all sectors of the economy, it is extremely important that the planning and development of future infrastructure is kept on track,” he said.
“With the era of the streamers only beginning, there is no reason to believe that demand for screen studio space will diminish in the medium term.”
Meanwhile, the lockdown has
also meant a slowdown of work on building sites and, in some cases, doubts over the future viability of developments such as large-scale offices and flats.
Today’s residential housing market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Ulster Bank says that surveyors expect a growing desire for properties with gardens or balconies, and towards homes located near green spaces.
Many surveyors also say there will be a fall in the appeal of tower blocks and 58% feel properties located in highly urban areas will be less enticing.
The Belfast Harbour spokesman said: “Regarding City Quays 4, a residential development, we continue to engage with the market around this opportunity to develop our plans and hope to be in a position to submit a planning application at some stage in the next 12 months but, again, we will keep this under review as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis.”
It’s believed that the Harbour still expects the projects to go ahead but that they may be delayed.
Meanwhile, Rajesh Rana, chief executive of Andras House,
which operates six hotels and serviced apartments in the city, said its Bedford Street aparthotel is “still in the planning approval stage”.
“We have secured a brand for the operation and, once planning is secured, we will work up detailed plans,” he said.
“We will review the market conditions at that time and we are keen to start this exciting project but it is likely that the start date will be delayed by around six months.”
Simon Hamilton, the chief executive of Belfast Chamber of Commerce, said he believed that
some developers were reassessing plans in light of Covid-19.
“It’s probably fair to say that in a few cases there has been maybe some re-evaluation of the nature and extent of some schemes in light of what has happened,” he explained.
“But I haven’t detected any retreat from redevelopment or schemes being taken off or stopped. Certainly there has been a look at the configuration of developments, and questions like what square footage do we need to give to an activity, and that’s a positive thing to do in the circumstances.
“People may ask if there are lessons they can learn to make developments more robust and resilient. That’s sensible and there may be a bit of delay as people see the economy settling down. That will have an impact on the pace of development but I don’t see schemes not happening, though they make take a bit longer.”
Despite the delays in Belfast Harbour’s future plans, other developments are still going ahead. Business advisory firm PWC said its move into new-build offices at Merchant Square in the city centre is on course.
Tribeca, a major redevelopment of the Cathedral Quarter, is progressing through the planning system, while it’s understood the Bywater and Ashmour redevelopment of the Gresham Street area is also going ahead.
Co Tyrone-based construction company Mcaleer and Rushe, which is working on developments including the revamp of Ewart’s Warehouse on Bedford Street, said: “Construction resumed in early May on our 213,000 sq ft landmark Bedford Square project and we’re proceeding towards completing the development in late 2021. Our project on the site of Norwich Union House received planning permission in March, with timing of the commencement of work to be confirmed.”
Belfast City Council, meanwhile, said it’s continuing with plans for regeneration.
“During lockdown, our Planning Service has adapted to minimise any delays caused by the pandemic, and given the green light to a number of new developments,” a spokesperson said.