News

Belfast’s iconic Bank Buildings reopen following major fire

On 1 November this year, Primark’s Bank Buildings reopened to the public after years of restoration following a devastating fire in August 2018. Director, Philip Stinson was part of the team tasked with getting the building back into use and shares his experience of working on the project.

Two weeks had passed since the fire on 28th August 2018 when I took a call late on a Friday asking if we could help Primark navigate the planning process. More calls over the weekend and we were straight into the aftermath on Monday morning, becoming part of the many, many meetings and discussions. The “Turley Fire Team” was born.

Across Belfast and Northern Ireland people were engrossed by the story. It captured the news. It caused anger. It caused heartbreak. It was devastating. Not least for our client, Primark. They had owned this store for as many years as I have been on this earth. They were the custodians of a listed building that was the centre piece of the city. It was meeting place for shopping trips, for friends and family to meet up before and after a day in Belfast. It was theirs and they were proud of it and equally devastated at what had happened. 

The upset was understandable. The fire had severed the city. Livelihoods were at risk. Many people wanted the building down and the streets opened up immediately. Many difficult conversations took place to arrive at the ‘right thing’ to do and many different permutations were explored. The Planning Act was poured over in relation to powers relating to listed buildings. I still recall the conversation with Senior Counsel about the potential implications of demolition. It closed down the options and set the strategy for the project, the building would be made safe and restored, if possible, but we had to try. And from then the foot never came off the pedal. With the exception of the initial Covid-19 outbreak I doubt there was one idle day amongst the team tasked with the rebuild. 

First the building had to be made safe. That required listed building consent to remove the upper floors deemed the unsafe elements that could collapse at any time. September & October 2018 brought some windy days and nights. The tilt monitors fitted to the building flickered through the night. But still the building stood. Only 3 weeks were required to secure that initial consent and work could commence. How was that possible? Belfast City Council and the Historic Environment Division engaged dedicated resource and a proactive approach to ensure we had our first consent. The key thing about that initial consent was that it meant a smaller cordon could be put in place around the building, allowing access to be created around the site. So ‘container alley’ was created. It was critical. It would allow Royal Avenue to connect to Donegall Place and return footfall through the heart of the city. Christmas was the target to start to return trade for those businesses around the site. The target was met with time to spare.

Containers started to appear all around the building too. The idea came from New Zealand where containers had been employed following the earthquakes in Christchurch. Belfast only had one building held up this way, so I can’t imagine what Christchurch must have been like. Some of the containers have since been re-used to create Trademarket on the site of the former Dublin Road cinema. A fantastic meanwhile use on another prominent city centre site. Our team were pleased to help Trademarket get on the ground with their project which now has the Royal seal of approval following the recent visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales. 

From there the building could painstakingly be surveyed stone by stone to understand the full extent of the damage and whether it would be possible to rebuild Bank Buildings. 

Once the surveys were concluded we moved on to the next stage of the project, the rebuild. Our Strategic Communications team engaged in a period of community consultation within the Primark Castle Street store, using a mix of in person events and digital consultation before Covid-19 made that the norm for a time. August 2019 saw the submission of the planning application to reinstate Bank Buildings. Again, with the work of the council and HED we went before planning committee in November 2019 and gained permission. The work then commenced in earnest and it didn’t stop until the store reopened on 1st November 2022. The store opened to much deserved fanfare, there was a noticeable vibrancy and life about the city centre. It was great to see people queuing to get into the store out of choice not necessity. A lot of work from a lot of people went into achieving the milestone. A legacy project for those involved and one to be proud of. 

What does this mean for the city? 

As the re-construction of Bank Buildings was ongoing, the new campus at Ulster University was being completed. 15,000 students descended to the bottom of Royal Avenue in September 2022. Around 2000 of these students will be able to live within 100 yards of the front door of the university and a further 1500 could have the opportunity to do so within the next three to four years as more purpose built accommodation comes out of the ground. Whilst we know not all students will be there every day, it’s a huge concentration of people in one place. The students need more than places to shop. Leisure and entertainment will be the asks. Does the city deliver?

A post Covid-19 boost and an opportunity to regenerate a part of the city centre that has long suffered from dereliction and under investment. It’s an opportunity that no one with an interest in Belfast can afford to miss. Belfast City Council bought the building next door to Bank Buildings following Tesco leaving. Tesco may not have left had it not been for the fire, but the council have grasped the opportunity to keep another piece of heritage in active use. The council are also seeking a design team to take forward their ‘Belfast Stories’ project on Royal Avenue. This all shows the importance of our heritage assets to the city centre. There are many wonderful buildings in the city and it is full of character that can be embraced.

Visual and physical connectivity has fully returned along this key city centre thoroughfare. Could pedestrianisation happen now too? It got an impromptu trial run because of the fire. That opportunity can’t be missed by a return to the status quo. Maybe there will be a DfI Minister who might explore this in the future. 

If anyone were to ask me if Primark do the right thing? Absolutely….!

If you would like to hear more about our work on restoring Bank Buildings, please contact Philip Stinson.

11 November 2022