26 April 2004
DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TO MOVE TO NEW HEADQUARTERS’ BUILDINGS AT GASWORKS BUSINESS PARK
The Department for Social Development, Northern Ireland’s largest Government Department, is to move to new headquarters’ buildings at the Gasworks Business Park, on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, during the summer months.
The move is part of the re-development of Victoria Square in the city centre, where the Department currently occupies Churchill House. Churchill House is to be demolished to help make way for a major retail-led development project.
Commenting on the move, the Minister responsible for Social Development, John Spellar, said:
"The move will help pave the way for the massive Victoria Square redevelopment project, that will completely transform this part of the city centre, bringing new life and jobs to the area. It's appropriate too that DSD, as the Government Department responsible for urban regeneration, should relocate to the old Gasworks site, which is itself an exciting example of the success of our efforts to regenerate an historic part of Belfast."
The Minister said that the new DSD headquarters, at the Lighthouse Building and Exchange Place in the Gasworks site, would provide a modern office environment for DSD staff, in bright new surroundings. The Lighthouse will be located next door to a new four-star Radisson Hotel and beside the landscaped Lagan towpath, with the Exchange Place building located nearby. In due course, it is hoped that all DSD headquarters’ staff, who are currently located in various premises across the city, can be brought together in the Gasworks site, improving operational efficiency.
The Minister further explained that AM, the scheme developer for the Victoria Square Project, has received planning permission to commence demolition of the buildings on the Victoria Square site. He added: "Preliminary work to prepare the site has been undertaken in and around Victoria Square for the past few months and demolition work has already begun on the Victoria Centre, which is the shopping mall and multi-storey car park running from Victoria Square through to Chichester Street. It is hoped that DSD staff will move to their new headquarters’ buildings from late May onwards, as the new buildings become available for occupation."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Churchill House was opened on 2 December 1966 by Edward Short MP, Her Majesty’s Post Master General.
- Over 500 staff will be moving to the new offices.
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