Northern Ireland Planning Service

Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015
District Proposals: Belfast City Centre Urban Environment

Conservation Areas

Policies CC 103 –CC 105 contain additional Design Criteria to be applied within Conservation Areas in the City Centre.
Development Proposals within City Centre Conservation Areas will be assessed in accordance with prevailing regional planning policy as currently set out in PPS 6 Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage, Policy UE 2 as set out in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan, additional design criteria as set out below and any relevant design guidance.
Policy CC 103 Belfast City Centre Conservation Area Additional Design Criteria
The following additional design criteria shall apply to Belfast City Centre Conservation Area:-
  • New buildings shall be designed so that heights of eaves, cornices, ridge heights and storey heights conform to those in the adjoining buildings or (where relevant) as set out under specified height restrictions in the City Centre Character Areas.
Belfast City Centre Conservation Area was designated in May 1998 and is one of three adjoining Conservation Areas within Belfast City Centre, with the Linen Conservation Area to the south and Cathedral Conservation Area to the north.
It encompasses a substantial area extending from the City Hall to North Street and from Victoria Street across to Durham Street. The area comprises much of the late Victorian commercial architecture of a bustling, self-confident town, which expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century from small beginnings to achieve city status in 1888. The Conservation Area is identified on Map No. 2/001 – Belfast City Centre and Map No. 7/002 – Belfast City Centre Conservation Area.
Policy CC 104 The Cathedral Conservation Area Additional Design Criteria
The following additional design criteria shall apply to The Cathedral Conservation Area:-
  • New buildings shall be designed so that heights of eaves, cornices, ridge heights and storey heights conform to those in the adjoining buildings or (where relevant) as set out under specified height restrictions in the City Centre Character Areas.
Designated in April 1990, the boundary of The Cathedral Conservation Area extends from Royal Avenue, along North Street and Bridge Street, to High Street. The boundary follows High Street to Victoria Street and then from Dunbar Link to York Street.
The Area exhibits a street pattern partly dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and contains a significant number of buildings of considerable merit. The Conservation Area is identified on Map No. 2/001 – Belfast City Centre and Map No. 7/003 – Cathedral Conservation Area.
Policy CC 105 Linen Conservation Area Additional Design Criteria
The following additional design criteria shall apply to Linen Conservation Area:-
  • New buildings shall be designed so that heights of eaves, cornices, ridge heights and storey heights conform to those in the adjoining buildings or (where relevant) as set out under specified height restrictions in the City Centre Character Areas.

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Designated in December 1992, the Linen Conservation Area is bounded by Howard Street/Donegall Square South/May Street to the north and by Cromac Street to the east. The southern boundary extends from Cromac Street along Bankmore Street to, and Bruce Street. Holmes Street, Bains Place, Blackstaff Square and Brunswick Street bound the area, to the west. Based on a formal grid pattern the Conservation Area originated as a Georgian residential area (Upper Markets), and contains a number of Victorian buildings associated with the Linen industry. The Conservation Area is identified on Map No. 2/001 – Belfast City Centre and Map No. 7/007 – Linen Conservation Area.
Part of Queen’s Conservation Area (Ref BT 027) lies within Belfast City Centre boundary and is identified on Map No. 2/001 - Belfast City Centre (see Map No 7/011 – Queen’s Conservation Area for clarification).

Areas of Townscape Character

The following Area of Townscape Character (ATC) CC 106 is designated in Belfast City Centre, as identified on Map No. 2/001 - Belfast City Centre and on clarification Map No. 2/004 – Victoria Street/Oxford Street ATC.
Policy for the control of development within the ATC is contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan.
Designation CC 106 Area of Townscape Character Victoria Street / Oxford Street
An Area of Townscape Character is designated at Victoria Street / Oxford Street as identified on Map No. 2/001 - Belfast City Centre and on clarification Map No. 2/004 – Victoria Street / Oxford Street Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows:
  • Late Victorian and Edwardian landmarks of architectural and historical significance to the area.  These include St. George’s Market (listed), Royal Courts of Justice (listed), the Old Town Hall in Victoria Street (listed), Trustee Savings Bank at Queens Square (listed) and the listed bank buildings on corner sites along Victoria Street, (including those framing May Street).  Also prominent are the Customs House (listed), Riddel’s Warehouse (listed), McCauslands Warehouse (now a hotel) (listed), Jamisons and Greens (listed), Elliots and Musgrave Street Police Station;
  • The Albert Memorial Clock, which is a listed landmark monument, terminates the view east from High Street and the view along Victoria Street;
  • Historic buildings contributing to the fabric and character include the remnants of a Victorian terrace in Victoria Street, the red brick Bank of Ireland building on the corner of Ann and Oxford Street and its neighbour to the listed St Malachy’s former school. An attractive red brick Victorian office block occurs to the rear of 10 – 14 Victoria Square, which while exhibiting some settlement could be repaired and restored;
  • Nos. 43 – 47 Chichester Street and the three storey red brick building in Montgomery Street, now somewhat overwhelmed by their modern neighbours, provide a good example of how buildings act as important  visual links, reflecting historic scale;
  • The Edwardian quayside and waterfront with surviving buildings reflecting the history of the docks location, including Tedford Sail and Tentmakers;
  • Other notable buildings include the Arts and Crafts gabled Whisky café and the adjacent public house with its tiled ground floor;
  • The 1880 three storey stuccoed Harbour Bar in Ann Street with plaster mould surrounds to first floor windows with dentiled pediment to the doorway, complements the 1930s 3 storey bar adjacent with full height round headed window within a broken pediment;
  • The historically important civic and institutional edge of city centre squares and open spaces such as Victoria Square, Queens Square and Customs House Square.Redevelopment of these should reinforce and enhance their importance; and
  • The views of the hills afforded from the area;  the hills to the west from Ann Street and Napoleons Nose from the junction of Ann and Victoria Streets.
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 1A as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See Belfast District Proposals Appendix 2).

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The area exhibits a gridiron street pattern and contains historically important, late Victorian and Edwardian civic, commercial and institutional buildings. Numerous gap sites occur in the area between Victoria, Chichester, Montgomery and May Streets that require sympathetic redevelopment.
The area falls within an Area of Archaeological Potential.
Part of Lower Lisburn Road Area of Townscape Character (Ref BT 059) lies within Belfast City Centre boundary and is identified on Map No. 2/001 - Belfast City Centre (see Map No. 4/036 – Lower Lisburn Road Area of Townscape Character for clarification).

Historic Park, Garden and Demesne

The following area will be detailed in a register of Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesne of special historic interest in Northern Ireland. This will summarise the historical significance for each site and the contribution such planned features make to the local landscape. It will also seek to encourage the public and others to value and support the protection and maintenance of such sites.
Prevailing regional policy for the protection of historic parks, gardens and demesnes of special historic interest is set out in PPS 6 Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage. Additional information is contained in the Countryside Assessment Technical Supplement.
Designation CC 107 Historic Park, Garden and Demesne Clifton House
Clifton House Historic Park, Garden and Demesne of special historic interest is designated as identified on Map No. 2/001 – Belfast City Centre and clarification Map No. 2/005 – Clifton House Historic Park, Garden and Demesne.
The present-day grounds were formally part of larger gardens, which were associated with Clifton House, which is now listed. The garden layout was redesigned and landscaped in 1993 to plans sympathetic with Clifton House.
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