1-7 Fountain Street, 24-40 Castle Street and 6-8 Queen Street, BT1 5EA
About Norwich Union House
Norwich Union House is six storey retail and office building extending to c37,000 sq ft. The building comprises 8 retail units on the ground floor along with five floors of office space on the upper floors. The site also has a 200 space multi storey car park. The 6-8 Queen Street site is currently vacant. Norwich Union House was previously a World War 2 bomb site and was constructed in the 1960s for Norwich Union. The site has since been acquired by McAleer & Rushe for redevelopment.
In September 2019, ES NUH Ltd - a development company associated with McAleer and Rushe - submitted a planning application (LA04/2019/2299/F) seeking to demolish the existing site and develop a 7 storey building which fronts onto Castle Street/ Fountain Street that would comprise of retail space at the ground floor, with six storeys of offices above. The proposals also included an 8 storey, 144 bedroom hotel which fronted on 6-8 Queen Street. The hotel element of the scheme was later removed from the proposals and replaced by additional office accommodation.
This application was approved by Belfast City Council in April 2020.
In April 2024, MRP NUH Limited, a development company associated with McAleer and Rushe, submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) (LA04/2024/0562/PAN) proposing demolition of existing buildings and construction of Purpose Built Multi Storey Managed Student Accommodation and associated shared/ancillary spaces with ground floor retail/retail service units, resident's gym/cinema and ancillary development/uses.
In June 2024, MRP NUH Limited submitted a planning application (LA04/2024/1138/F) proposing the demolition of existing buildings and construction of Purpose Built Multi Storey Managed Student Accommodation (895 no. rooms) with heights of between 6-10 storeys and associated shared/ancillary spaces with ground floor retail/retail service units, resident's gym/cinema and ancillary development/uses. This application was approved in May 2025.
There has been previous planning applications for the site including:
Z/2006/2040/F - Demolition of existing building and erection of 7 storey building, retail on ground floor with office above. (Submitted by Deramore Property Group in September 2006 and later withdrawn in June 2007)
In September 2025, McCusker Demoliton commenced the demolition process of Norwich Union House.
Project Information
Start Date
August 2025
Units
895
Cost
£80,000,000.00
Size
243000 ft²
Floors
10
Planning References
LA04/2024/1138/F LA04/2024/1138/F
Project Team
McAleer & Rushe
Developer
Todd Architects
Architect
Gahan and Long
Archaeological Consultant
Crestwood Environmental Ltd
Acoustic Consultant
Air Quality Consultant
MRA Partnership
Transport Consultant
RSK
Environmental Consultant
Flood Risk Consulting
Flood Risk Consultant
Ian Black Consulting
Structural Engineer
Caldwell
M & E Consultant
Clyde Shanks
Planning Consultant
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