Debate contribution: Tribeca, Belfast: Development
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 30 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- Tribeca, Belfast: Development
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5143442
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank my colleague Phillip Brett for bringing the debate to the Assembly Floor. I note the high level of agreement from all parties about the frustration at the lack of progress with the development. North Belfast has the highest level of dereliction in the city centre area. I acknowledge that we have had investment and progress, particularly with the new Ulster University campus. It is a pleasure to see the young people and the new student accommodation in that area. We will see the new Belfast Stories visitor attraction, which the council will bring forward. As others have done, I acknowledge the progress at Hill Street, the MAC, St Anne's Square and the work of the Cathedral Quarter Trust and BID. Moving towards the river, there is the impressive City Quays development by Belfast harbour. However, the derelict sites are very evident when you come into the city centre from the Shankill, Clifton Street, Donegall Street and York Street/York Road. The non-development of the Tribeca site has been a huge blight and cause of frustration. It did not progress when it was known as "Royal Exchange", and, when Castlebrooke bought it, we expected rapid progress. I understand that the name "Tribeca" comes from New York, where it means "Triangle below Canal Street". I do not know about Belfast: I think that I once heard that, here, it is an abbreviation of "Triangle beside the cathedral" or "Triangle below the cathedral". Castlebrooke has expanded the site by buying up more land and property on the other side of North Street between Rosemary Street and Lower Garfield Street. It has created a 12-acre site — a significant chunk of the city centre. That would be good news, if it was progressing, but, instead, we have seen frustrating years of delay and a lack of physical progress. Castlebrooke points to wider circumstances that have impacted on its plans. Originally, the site was meant to be retail-led and a John Lewis store was touted, but the growth of online and out-of-town shopping seems to have damaged that prospect. Likewise, Castlebrooke thought about creating a more office-led development, but COVID and the growth of homeworking impacted on those plans. We are told that it is now meant to be residential-led, including some student accommodation and possibly still a hotel, but we hope that there will still be retail uses and public spaces, especially on the ground floor. We welcome the move by Belfast City Council to purchase the historic Assembly Rooms and other buildings in the car park behind it. We trust that that will come to fruition and kick-start the redevelopment of the wider site. Castlebrooke tells us that a new planning application is being prepared and that it plans to carry out briefings around the end of next month. North Belfast DUP representatives — Phillip Brett and I and our councillors — will continue to push for progress and for early actual progress, not land banking, which is what it seems to be currently. There have been changes in the economic landscape, but this is prime real estate that connects the city centre to the North Belfast and greater Shankill area. The university campus and Belfast Stories attraction lead the way to a brighter future for this city-centre quarter. Let us see Castlebrooke and Tribeca adding to that regeneration, not holding it back.
561 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.72).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.72 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.85 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.05 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.05 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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