UK-based construction firm McAleer & Rushe has secured planning consent from Belfast City Council for the second phase of its Bedford Square development in Northern Ireland.

The development’s second phase will include the construction of a new 17-storey office building, providing 17,000sq m of grade A office space, and the renovation of the listed William Ewart building to create a further 3,000sq m of space.

The company is now in negotiations with potential office occupiers for phase two of Bedford Square, with work expected to commence on site in the near future.

McAleer & Rushe property director Stephen Surphlis said: “This planning approval is a welcome boost to the Belfast office market, with the second phase of Bedford Square bringing a landmark building back into active use after many years of vacancy and helping to alleviate the shortage of grade A space in the city.

“The first phase of Bedford Square has been a great success and we now have the opportunity to complete the vision with the creation of much-needed business space and new public realm which, together with our Maldron Hotel and QUB student accommodation developments on the adjoining Brunswick Street site, will make a huge contribution to the regeneration of Belfast’s Linen Quarter and this part of the city.”

The first phase of the project was completed in 2006 and is home to Invest Northern Ireland’s headquarters.