Ulster University Belfast Campus

The new Belfast Campus caters for the needs of the 11,292 Full Time Students and 1,280 staff as well as providing benefits for the city of Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole.

The development consists of:

• The replacement of the existing Interpoint building with an extended elevation along Frederick Street; the new structure is of various heights, ranging from 4 to 12 storeys.
• A 9-storey structure located on the site of the former York House and Playboard buildings.
• The replacement of the existing Orpheus and Metropole House buildings with a 2 to 9-storey building, fronting onto York Street.

A number of issues were encountered throughout the duration of this project that we had to overcome. The modern design is located adjacent to a conservation area and listed buildings and had the potential to generate a significant increase of traffic in the area due to the large number of students and staff. There were also other environmental issues that had to be addressed during the planning process as well as some issues with the visual impact of a tall building with significant mass in the area.

Gravis Planning project managed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, carrying out the initial scoping exercise in conjunction with DoE Planning and then procuring and managing the EIA team on behalf of the client. We worked with the design team throughout the EIA process, advising on the environmental implications of the proposal and how to adjust the design to keep environmental impacts to a minimum. We produced the Environmental Statement and Non-Technical Summary (NTS) which were subsequently submitted with the planning application in March 2012. A further adjustment and addendum to the Environmental Statement was required in September and then October 2012 and we were responsible for managing that process and producing the statements. Planning permission was obtained in May 2013, with the new campus completed and welcoming students in September 2021.