• 17 schemes completed or under construction in 2024
• Five new schemes began construction last year, lowest since 2016
• Signs of a new wave of hotel development, with circa 2,000 hotel rooms in the planning pipeline
The construction of student accommodation and hotels were the key drivers of development activity in Belfast in 2024, but new projects to grow the city’s residential offering remained elusive, according to Deloitte’s latest Regional Crane Survey for Belfast.
The report monitors construction activity in Belfast across a range of sectors including offices, residential, hotels, retail, education and student housing, and is seen as a barometer of developer sentiment and future plans.
Now in its ninth year, the annual Belfast Crane Survey showed that in total 17 major schemes were under construction or completed in Belfast in 2024, slightly down on the total of 20 recorded in 2023.
There were only five new projects that broke ground during the year, compared with seven in 2023 and nine in 2022. This is the fewest number of active developments and new starts since the survey began in 2016.
Higher education continued to drive change in Belfast, with three new student accommodation projects representing 1,224 bedspaces under construction.
The report notes that the most significant project completed in 2024 was Grand Central Station, the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland, which began welcoming passengers towards the end of the year.
Belfast also saw one new hotel completion – The Flint – and one new start, but the survey also reported signs of a new wave of hotel developments, with over 2,000 hotel rooms in the planning pipeline as operators seek to take advantage of strong visitor numbers to Northern Ireland and some hotel occupancy rates reportedly above 80%.
For the first time, the Belfast Crane Survey recorded no new office completions, with the recent trend towards refurbishments outweighing interest in new builds. When construction starts on the new Kainos office on Dublin Road in 2025 it will be the first new build office start since 2020, when work commenced on The Paper Exchange and Olympic House.
While there were two modest residential completions during the year – 48 social homes in College Square North and 38 private homes on the Ormeau Road – there were no new residential starts in the city centre in 2024. On the upside, construction continued on the Loft Lines development in Titanic Quarter, which will create almost 800 homes across private tenancy with affordable and social housing.
Marie Doyle, partner at Deloitte in Belfast, said:
“The growth of the purpose-built student accommodation is a reminder of the importance of Queen’s University and Ulster University to Belfast. The student accommodation market is now mature and offering significant economic impact, and with Belfast Region City Deal Research & Development projects commencing, we expect higher education to remain a positive driver for the city.
“But alongside the growing visitor and temporary student populations, a permanent city centre residential population remains a key objective for sustaining a successful city centre. It is also proving to be the toughest nut to crack for Belfast. To have a vibrant and lively city centre, it needs people, so creating appealing homes that encourage people to stay in the centre when they enter the workforce remains the essential next step.”
Councillor Sam Nelson, Chair of City Growth and Regeneration, Belfast City Council, said:
“Belfast has seen significant regeneration in recent years and there is high demand to live, work, socialise, study, and invest here. But there is more to do. We’re continuing to work hard, alongside all our city partners, to unlock regeneration opportunities while preserving our built heritage. We are clear that we need more city centre homes for a growing population, and we’ve recently appointed a long-term private sector development partner to work in partnership with the Council to help us deliver residential-led, mixed-use, sustainable developments across multiple Council owned sites. We’re also working with partners to enhance access to green space, to improve connectivity, and to embrace our waterfront.”
Colin Mounstephen, director at Deloitte in Belfast, said:
“Undoubtedly, many eyes will be on the Loft Lines residential development in Titanic Quarter, which will act as a proof of concept for the wider market. However, if the city wants to attract people it cannot afford to wait and observe Loft Lines, it needs to strengthen the liveability of the city centre, for example with more walking, cycling and green spaces to complement the city’s traditional retail and leisure offering.
“Another potential solution lies in the area known as Tribeca, if the site can be unlocked with a housing-led approach. There is a lot of potential tied up in Tribeca and it could have a very positive impact on building the city centre residential population and improving the general atmosphere of the city, if it can be realised.”