Riddel's Warehouse: Plea to council to help restore Victorian building

Riddel's Warehouse in Belfast city centre, pictured circa 1915

The owner of one of Belfast's oldest buildings has appealed to the city council to help with its restoration.

More than £8m is required to fully restore the 150-year-old Riddel's Warehouse in the city centre but a request for funding from the council was turned down on Monday.

Hearth Historic Buildings Trust, which owns the building, is unhappy with how its application was handled.

It is considering a number of options, including legal action.

The restoration project was initially earmarked to receive almost £225,000 from the council's Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund but, in the end, it was not allocated any money.

Hearth committee member Karen Latimer said: "It was a huge disappointment and very worrying. We needed that money to lever external money into the city.

"Riddel's Warehouse is a rare survivor of Belfast's Victorian past and is uniquely placed to attract visitors."

There are plans to turn the warehouse into a creative hub, with room for small offices, a cafe and an event space with capacity for 150-200 people.

The building, on Ann Street, was constructed in 1867 as a four-storey ironmongery warehouse.

The warehouse is described as a "unique atrium" with galleries held up by cast iron columns in a glass-roofed courtyard

It operated until the early 1970s, when the outbreak of the Troubles in Belfast forced a relocation.

The police took over the building, which is located beside Musgrave Police Station, in the 1980s but in 2014 it was bought by Hearth.

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"What we want to do is combine community and business, which is something that Belfast needs," Ms Latimer said.

In a direct appeal to the city council, she asked: "Is there any other help you can offer? Are there any other pots of money available?

"Funding from other sources enables us to match funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and lever approximately three times as much money into the city."

On the rejection of the recent funding bid, she said: "We are going to consider our options, whether we follow this up through legal routes or whether we follow it up with the council.

"I think that would be the preferred option - to talk to people and see where we go from here."

However, she made it clear that legal action had not been ruled out, at this stage.

In a statement, a council spokesperson said: "While Hearth Historic Buildings Trust has not been allocated neighbourhood renewal funds at this stage of the programme, they will be offered the opportunity to be held as a reserve project.

"Elected members may revisit the reserve projects if an opportunity becomes available under the fund in future.

"There are not currently any other council capital funding programmes open to applicants.

"Council officers will however, continue to signpost projects to non-council capital funding opportunities if they become available."

Restoration is 'environmentally friendly'

Before the final decision was made on the council funding allocations, there was political row at Belfast City Hall when it emerged that a charity for children with special needs, Sólás, was facing a potential 97% drop in the amount of money it was initially earmarked to receive.

At one stage, it was in line to receive £800,000 then it fell to £24,744 but ended up being earmarked for more than £300,000.

Two representatives from Sólás addressed the monthly meeting of the council.

Hearth said it only heard about the proposed funding from a third party on the day of the full council meeting and, although representatives were at the meeting, they were not aware of an opportunity to apply to speak.

A present-day view of the Victorian facade of Riddel's Warehouse

Regarding speaking rights, a Belfast City Council spokesperson said: "A request was received on 19 December 2023 from Sólás to address the council on the topic of disability community services and inclusion in south Belfast.

"No groups applying for the Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund were invited to address the council meeting about their application for funding."

Hearth said that if Riddel's Warehouse is fully restored it will bring jobs to the city, contribute to heritage-led regeneration and be environmentally friendly.

Ms Latimer said: "The most sustainable building is the building that's already there."