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.
Graham-BAM Healthcare Partnership, a joint venture between Graham Construction and BAM International, has been selected by South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust to build Ulster Hospital’s new £95m Acute Services Block in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
There’s no doubt that for the idea of the Northern Powerhouse to become a reality we need better infrastructure in the North, and we need it fast. But how do we build the schools, houses, hospitals, rail stations and other buildings we need across the region quicker and cheaper, without sacrificing quality? John Edwards at Atkins Group looks at solutions.
One critically important, but perhaps under discussed, area of the Northern Powerhouse is energy. In particular, where will it be generated, what technologies will be used now and in the future and how will it be decarbonised? And most importantly, how will it be distributed effectively and efficiently across the Northern Powerhouse. Paul Yates at Atkins Group discusses.