Victoria Square residents get go-ahead to appeal failed compo claim

RESIDENTS evacuated from a Belfast apartment block due to safety concerns have been granted permission to appeal their failed multi-million pound compensation claim.

The group action brought over structural issues at the Victoria Square complex was struck out at the High Court last month because a legislative time limit for mounting the case had expired.

But a solicitor who represents the owners of 68 of the 91 apartments disclosed yesterday that a challenge to that ruling is expected to be mounted. James Turner of O’reilly Stewart confirmed: “My clients have been granted leave by the High Court to appeal the judgment in this case.”

Completed in 2008, the city centre apartments on Chichester Street have been empty for the past five years.

In April 2019, residents were told to move out following an assessment of a structural column.

Ulster Garden Villages Ltd, a charity which owns more than half the apartments, and individual owners joined forces to sue the builders and architects involved in the development.

They claimed for structural defects, negligence and loss of value in a joint lawsuit estimated to be worth up to £25m.

Construction firms Farrans and Gilbert-ash, along with architecture company Building Design Partnership, all denied any liability. The three defendants successfully applied to have the action struck out on the grounds that it was statute barred.

Under laws in NI, a claim for compensation must be lodged within six years of a building being completed, unlike 30 years in England and Wales.

Mr Justice Huddleston agreed to dismiss the action after finding that the apartment owners were caught by that limit.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced on Monday that new legislation will be brought forward to bring Northern Ireland into line with the law in England and Wales.

With the case set to be listed for a further hearing in the Court of Appeal later in the year, no grounds of challenge have been disclosed at this stage.

But Mr Turner added: “If this action had been brought elsewhere in the UK, it would most likely not have been struck out.”