Sirocco site redevelopment plans submitted

An artist's impression of what the proposed office development will look like

The owners of the Sirocco site in east Belfast have submitted detailed plans for the first phase of redevelopment.

The site covers 16 acres along the River Lagan between Bridge End and the Albertbridge Road.

It was bought by a consortium of three firms in 2016 with the intention of developing homes, a hotel and offices.

The first phase of the scheme is a 250,000 sq ft office development. Construction is due to start later this year, with completion due in 2019.

The first phase of the scheme is a 250,000 sq ft office development

Jim Osborne, from developers Vanguard Real Estate, said the intention was to have "a thriving business and creative quarter" by 2020.

The Sirocco site was originally used as an industrial ventilation factory which closed in 1999.

In 2006, the Belfast-based Carvill Group bought the site for £40m and proposed a mixed-use scheme, anchored by a supermarket.

However the property crash intervened, Carvill went into administration and the site lay derelict.

It eventually ended up under the control of the Cerberus investment fund, who sold it to the new owners.