Court of Appeal approves plans for shopping complex in Belfast

The Court of Appeal in Belfast has finally given the go-ahead to a controversial £80 million sterling (€128 million) shopping complex in east Belfast following almost two years of legal wrangling. Three judges yesterday unanimously upheld an appeal by the developers, Anglia and General, against last September's decision by Mr Justice Coghlin quashing planning permission for the D5 development.

A massive retail and leisure complex on a 54-acre site at Knocknagoney on the Bangor Road was planned.

D5 is expected to become the North's biggest retail development creating more than 1,000 jobs.

It will include a Sainsbury's store, a B&Q depot, a retail warehouse and a family entertainment centre with an 18-screen cinema. A spokesman for Anglia and General, Mr Duncan Mathieson, welcomed the decision, saying: "We are very relieved and happy with the decision and now look forward to proceeding with the development as soon as possible.

"It has been a long drawnout process and there has been disappointment for both sides along the way. But hopefully this is the end of the saga."

The Department of Environment, a co-applicant in the case, also welcomed the decision for the development to go ahead. A leading Northern economist, Mr John Simpson, said the decision was the correct one as parking facilities in the city centre were still far from adequate, leading to people doing their shopping in out-of-town complexes such as the D5. The Belfast Chamber of Trade, which has been fighting the development since it first received planning permission in 1995 on the grounds that it would have a detrimental effect on retailers in Belfast city centre as well as in Holywood and Dundonald, said it was "disappointed but determined to fight on". The chamber's chief executive, Mr Frank Caddy, referred to a statement in court that the chamber was reserving the right to make an application for leave to appeal to the British House of Lords. Although the decision was "not a disaster", it was still a blow for Belfast city centre where almost 80 commercial units were lying vacant, he added. The development has been granted planning permission twice, only to have it rescinded again on appeal. It was given the green light by the Department of Environment in 1995 but the decision was overturned in July 1999 following a legal challenge by Belfast City Council and the Chamber of Trade. After a reapplication by the developers, the then economic development minister, Mr George Howarth, regranted permission during the brief period when the Assembly was suspended in February 2000, before that decision was yet again overturned by the High Court.