Objections by the First Presbyterian Church in Belfast to a plan for a new gambling establishment at the site of an old Ann Summers shop in Belfast city centre have failed to sway councillors, who have approved a planning application.

At the monthly meeting of the Belfast City Council Planning Committee on Tuesday (September 17), elected representatives approved an application for the change of use from retail unit to amusement arcade and adult gaming centre at 51 Rosemary Street, Belfast, BT1, just off Royal Avenue.

The applicant is Sam Stranaghan, EZE Gaming Ltd, Ava House, Prince Regent Road, Belfast BT5.

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At a Planning Committee meeting earlier this summer, and despite council officers recommending approval for the application, councillors decided on a deferral with a view to “consider all concerns that members had” and potentially compiling valid reasons to reject the application.

Council officers returned to the committee without changing their position, and on Tuesday evening the application was approved without a vote or any elected member formally objecting.

The First Church’s building at 41 Rosemary Street is the city’s oldest surviving place of worship. 51 Rosemary Street was granted permission for a shop sign as an Ann Summers sex shop in 2005. The site has been derelict in recent years.

South Belfast DUP MLA and the current Assembly Speaker, Edwin Poots earlier this year lodged an objection to the application at City Hall. There were three letters of objection in all sent to the council.

They raised concerns including the nature of the description of the application, the principle of a non-retail use in this location, and the impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area. Objectors also raised issues of noise, litter, and traffic,, health and well-being, the impact on the image and profile of Belfast City Centre and fears of “clustering” of gaming centres in the area.

There were no objections from any of the statutory partners required in the application process.

At the Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, Diana Thompson on behalf of the First Church said: “The approval will cause a cluster of these uses within a small area, and it will be a bad neighbour to the Church.”

She added: “I would respectfully draw your attention to the words of the supplementary planning guidance of the Local Development Plan, which are unequivocal in a Belfast context. They say amusement arcades reduce the character of an area.”

She said: “Your Building Control says four things about the impact of arcades in Belfast’s prime retail core. They have a narrow appeal, and so low footfall. It is highly questionable whether they add vitality to an area.

“They do not provide an active street frontage at the ground floor level because their interior is screened. They do little to project an image that Belfast is open for business.”

A representative for the applicant said the existing premises were “dilapidated and a blight on Rosemary Street” and said the £200,000 plan would “support vibrancy by refurbishing a vacant derelict unit, retaining eight jobs and bringing footfall.” He added there “was no sustainable basis for refusing this planning permission.”

A council officer at the meeting said to elected members: “The planning recommendation assessment in front of you is one based on land use policy. The Building Control consultation request is one based on the Licensing regime, and the amusement permit policy is part of that regime.

“Whilst weight could be given to it in this process, we have to be really clear that the decision on the land use policy application has to be made on land use issues and policies.”

A council planning report on the application states: “The proposal is for a change of use of the premises to an adult gaming centre only. No external alterations are proposed. Adult gaming centre shop fronts are by their nature largely screened so as not to publicise the activities inside.

“Some members of the committee expressed concern about the proposal presenting an inactive frontage within the conservation area. However, the shopfront would not be completely inactive as there would be the comings and goings of patrons and some activity within the shopfront, such as signage and most likely illumination, similar to the other uses within Rosemary Street.”

An earlier version of the report states: “(The council’s) Building Control Service considers that there may be an issue in respect of the proliferation of amusement arcade use at this location, which might impact upon the character and amenity of the area. It is considered that there is not a proliferation of amusement arcades given there are no other Amusement Arcades on Rosemary Street.

“Building Control have listed five other Amusement Arcades, however two of these are located greater than a five minute walk from the site which are not considered to contribute to proliferation of this area. A total of four amusement arcades within a 200 metre radius of the site is not considered to impact on the overall character and appearance of this section of the city centre.”

It adds: “Environmental Health considered the potential impact on the proposal in terms of noise, odour, contaminated land, litter and general nuisance and offered no objection to the proposal.

“Adjacent the site is a live application for 12 apartments at first to fourth floors of 31-39 Royal Avenue. The windows of the habitable rooms do not face onto the current proposal or its front curtilage on Rosemary Street apart from the windows to the proposed first floor terrace.

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“This terrace is protected by a parapet wall and given the existing high ambient noise levels it is not considered that there will be an adverse impact from noise should both proposals be granted permission.”

It adds: “DFI Roads were consulted and offered no objection to the proposal. Historic Environment Division were consulted on the potential impact on the setting of listed buildings, and offered no objection to the proposal.

“In conclusion, having regard to the Local Development Plan the proposal is therefore considered to comply with (policy) as it will not result in any significant harm to human life, health or wellbeing.” The report concluded it was “suitable for a main town centre use” and would “not result in an unacceptable adverse impact on the environment.”

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