Odyssey Complex plans revealed

Plans for the £100m project have been submitted as an outline planning application to the Northern Ireland Planning Service and include:

• 791,750 sq ft or 800 residential dwellings.

• 47,038 sq ft of offices

• 255, 546 sq ft of leisure including two hotels and conference facilities.

• 16, 899 sq ft of community and cultural uses including a crèche and a GP surgery.

• 9,741 sq ft of local retail services.

• 29, 482 sq ft of cafés, restaurants and bars

• 2,700 car parking spaces

The plans aim to better integrate the Odyssey site with the rest of Belfast city centre and create an improved gateway to the Titanic Quarter.

The Odyssey Trust revealed has been working on the master plan for nearly two years. Architects, HJ Lyons and planning consultants Turley Associates have been advising the Odyssey Trust.

Odyssey Trust chairman, Alan Gibson, said:

“The first 10 years of the Odyssey have been very successful and Northern Ireland has been bestowed with perhaps the best of the Millennium projects built across the UK. The Odyssey Trust is now looking to the future to secure and enhance this asset for the people of Northern Ireland by ensuring that the site area under its control is used to its best potential.”

Odyssey Trust Chief Executive, Robert Fitzpatrick added:

“After much creative and innovative work, we have submitted a Master Plan that begins to articulate our vision for the future. While it would be easy to fear the impact of the current recession, we believe there is a bright future for the Odyssey and that now is the time to begin the work to secure and sustain its future success. Belfast and the Odyssey has benefitted in recent years from the closure of the Point Depot in Dublin. Now completely re-developed and renamed as the O2, Dublin has a major new offer that sets a challenge for the Odyssey. We have every confidence that this master-plan and other future changes can rise to meet that challenge.

“In addition, the creation of the new Rapid Tansit system, which is proposed to run through the middle of our site shows what an important location Odyssey commands and we believe it is prudent now to add the elements that are missing from our existing offer – providing high quality opportunities to live, stay and work in addition to the fabulous leisure facilities that we have at the moment and further additions that we see in the future.”