@Aaron_R_Rankin from what I understand part of the problem is it's much easier to build student accommodation - real houses have much more stringent building conditions like mandatory car parking spaces.
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Johnny
897 posts
The only thing Belfast City Council seems to authorise for building is social housing or student flats, no regular housing allowed it seems
BBC News NI@BBCNewsNI
A Belfast pub and hotel could be demolished to make way for student flats. bbc.in/3RkPwi1
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@RyanMcAleerbiz It looks like a great development tbh, although existing buildings have a lot of character. Confusing though - the press in NI seem to be saying there is no demand left for student housing. Wonder why they want to proceed (either there is demand, or there is another reason).
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The investment and development arm of the Graham construction group has submitted plans to demolish the Wellington Park Hotel and Botanic Inn on Belfast's Malone Rd for a student accommodation scheme. The Mooney family, who own the site, are described as partners in the project.
Irish News Business@irishnewsbiz
Plans announced to demolish landmark south Belfast hotel and pub for student accommodation irishnews.com/news/business/…
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@james__love @niroads It is wild how poorly run it is. We're also mostly concerned about the initiation of projects - we haven't even had an opportunity to worry about cost overruns, general mismanagement of the project, etc! (which I'm sure will be just as bad)
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Northern Ireland Roads Site updated: A5WTC dualling #Derry-#Strabane-#Omagh-#Ballygawley-#Aughnacloy; A4 #Enniskillen Bypass: wesleyjohnston.com/roads
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@Belfast_Rubble this building will probably end up being knocked down if the hotel doesn't go ahead.
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A piece of built heritage getting a new lease of life... surely cause to celebrate? Maybe less so when overall its more inconsequential to the development. Maybe intentionally in the street level CGI, the scale of the new build isn't quite so obvious. Ref: LA04/2020/0568/F
Belfast Telegraph@BelTel
Plans to partially demolish a listed building and build a new hotel in Belfast city centre are wrongly focused on maximising profit, the High Court heard today. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-… belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-…
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@NewtonEmerson For decades we've been asking, "who should govern Northern Ireland?", but nobody actually cared about the question, "how well should we govern Northern Ireland?". It seems all that mattered in the end was who had power and not if they did the right thing for the people of NI.
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If you ever wondered what goes on inside the pumping station at Connswater... a story that reveals NI's sewage problem is even worse than generally realised.
The Times and Sunday Times@thetimes
‘We love our new park, but why is it full of sewage?’ #Echobox=1777796684" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thetimes.com/world/ireland-…
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@JamesLane1488 @realPaulConroy could be sampling but I am from N Ireland and my DNA is ~6% Irish - mostly Scottish, but could understand that people on the north coast or scottish isles could be part of an isolated genetic clade given difficulty in travelling to + around that part of the world historically.
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@realPaulConroy Those northern Irish samples and scottish isles samples are not very good. No way im closer to a Frisian than someone from Northern Ireland
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Irish close to Frisians genetically
Kriqlation@kriqlation
Heatmap for Irish people. Distances with modern populations.
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@scottishgreens Sort of reminiscent of what goes on in third world countries where the opposition are disadvantaged by the government. He must have really bothered you... I thought that a government in a developed country would be above this kind of pettiness.
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Housing's a human right. But the super-rich like Lord Offord are hoarding homes they don't need and pricing people out of the communities they grew up in.
By freeing up more properties for people who need a home to live in we can build a housing sector that works for everyone.
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@NewtonEmerson Same cost as reopening the knockmore line! I suppose we all pay via our bills rather than Stormont, but wouldn't be surprised if Stormont had negotiated that they pay the entire thing upfront.
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I was surprised to discover the staggering cost of this is in line with what they cost to install in the rest of the UK.
BBC News NI@BBCNewsNI
Smart electricity meters will be rolled out in Northern Ireland from 2028, according to the Department for the Economy bbc.in/3QEYPcj
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@1DailyBusiness @BlackIslePMD shops take the hit? If I was the shop I wouldn't be selling these products then haha
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@BlackIslePMD Check out the media ... it's all explained. There is no cost to the taxpayer... shops have to take the hit (or raise prices of other goods. dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2026/04/swinne…
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Can someone explain this to me in simple terms, how will the prices be capped? Does the government subsidise shops, or do the shops have to sell at loss/lower margin, and if so, how are they compelled to maintain stock etc?
John Swinney@JohnSwinney
We are ready to cap essential food prices and support people with the cost of living. Other parties are trying to stop us from bringing prices down. On May 7th, vote SNP for a government that’s always on Scotland’s side.
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@RyanMcAleerbiz heard any news on if construction will actually begin on this site? We hear a lot of demolition followed by no building in Belfast.
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@L__Macfarlane If you incentivise house builders properly, people will do it to make money. Looks like they were almost there until 2022 too. House building increased from ~150k to ~250k without much in terms of government built housing...
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Building 300,000 homes a year through planning reform + market-led development always a complete fantasy.
Building on this scale is going to be state-led, or it’s not going to happen. Even more so in the current climate.
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utterly baffling that we are still doing this sort of thing
Aviation News UK@AviationNews_UK
Info | Bristol Airport has submitted its official planning application to the local council. If approved, the airport will be allowed to expand to 15 million passengers per year. Included in these plans is an extension to the runway, additional aircraft stands and more car parking spaces. The full planning application is linked below 👇 planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applica…
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@MatthewOToole2 You literally can't govern NI though - Let's say a really strong, pragmatic + intelligent party came and won on a platform of fixing things, they don't get to run Stormont. Departments are split up, rules are made by consensus - there is no leadership - just more muddling along.
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A very weird thing for such a contested region: no one wants to govern Northern Ireland.
I wrote on my substack about the crisis of irresponsibility in politics here.
open.substack.com/pub/matthewoto…
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@LinenQuarterBID @HastingsHotels @PlanBelfast @niplanner @VisitBelfast we all live in hope that DFI will do anything I suppose.
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A planning application for a 46-unit serviced apartment scheme on Amelia Street has been submitted by @HastingsHotels.
The 11-storey new built will replace the current Blackstaff Chambers and would benefit from a planned public realm upgrade of Blackstaff Square.
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The gondola/ cable car is dead & buried.
NMD Council’s city deal tourism project is now going to be ‘an immersive tourism trail featuring world class visitor amenities stretching from Carlingford Lough to Strangford Lough.’
newrymournedown.org/council-to-pro…
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@DavidNevin I hated this building, but now it's gone I realise it added quite a unique futuristic feeling if you were ever standing outside Voodoo
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Castle Street. Not long to go for Norwich Union House. 1962-2026
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