Alan Wilson, Managing Director of Hamilton Osborne King, Belfast, has warned that the city is missing out on opportunities to re-position itself as the premier shopping destination within Ireland because of frustration over planning complications and delays.
Mr Wilson said the interests of the consumer have been largely disregarded, if not ignored entirely, "while the co-gnoscenti argue over the interpretation and application of PPS5, the North's planning codes.
"The shopping public is going elsewhere - notably to provincial Northern Ireland towns, Dublin, Glasgow and even further afield. Simultaneously, major retailers currently unrepresented here but who are interested in coming to Belfast have become disillusioned with planning delays and our apparent protectionism and interminable wrangling and are looking elsewhere. "While the in town/out of town arguments rage, Belfast urgently needs new development on both fronts."
Mr Wilson pointed out that apart from Castle Court, which opened in April 1990, no other significant retail development has been built during the interim period.
Consequently, the city centre's appeal has diminished in recent years and it could justifiably be regarded as lacking in dynamism. "An injection of new quality floor space in order to attract an additional department store or stores and exciting new retailers is sorely needed in order to lure the shopper back into the city centre.
"Furthermore, growing evidence exists that the local economy is losing market share to more substantial shopping offers presented by cities such as Dublin and Glasgow, which are enhanced further by the availability of convenient and cheap travel to such destinations."
Mr Wilson said that in his view Belfast city centre can comfortably accommodate one and possibly more of the four major retail schemes currently proposed by developers as these are all located within the central retail core and, consequently, should not be contentious in planning terms.
"It is important that each scheme should receive encouragement from all quarters to ensure that there is no further delay in the ultimate delivery of whichever scheme can successfully secure desirable retailers before they go elsewhere."
He referred to the 55-acre site outside Holywood, D5, which is undergoing its third High Court battle and which has been in the planning process for five years as "another glaring example of retail under-development".
He continued: "It is obvious that key elements of D5 offer precisely what the customer wants but which cannot be accommodated within the conventional city centre retail environment.
"Traditional High Street shop units/centres and retail parks offer two distinctly different types of retailing, which cannot co-exist location-wise."
Mr Wilson said the Department of the Environment's recent announcement to grant planning consent for further development at Sprucefield represents another potential threat to Belfast's position within the shopping hierarchy within Northern Ireland.
"Sprucefield's expansion will potentially reinforce Lisburn town centre's position and therefore reduce future business being attracted to Belfast city centre. It is imperative that developments such as D5 and other similar schemes on the outskirts of the city be permitted where appropriate. This will ensure that Belfast city centre regains its position as the dominant retailing centre in Northern Ireland."
