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A Titanic project that will bring 400,000 people on board each year
Friday, 5 December 2008
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Last Thursday's confirmation of government funding for the Titanic Signature Project was a tremendous boost for tourism in Northern Ireland, and on behalf of |all those involved in tourism |we thank the Executive for its support.
Belfast now has the chance to construct a building of world class quality, a building of iconic status such as the Sydney Opera House, Guggenheim Bilbao, the Alexandria Library and the Empire State Building, that will provide a long term legacy for the people of Northern Ireland.
The Titanic Signature Project will be located at the head of the Titanic and Olympic slipways in the heart of Titanic Quarter.
The building will encompass a tourism, leisure and cultural facility over five storeys high, and contain a number of themed exhibition galleries that will tell the story of Titanic and the wider story of Belfast's industrial, shipbuilding and maritime history.
The attraction will also include banqueting, retail and restaurant facilities, conference suites, a community resource facility and a unique Flying Theatre.
When complete in 2012, the centenary year, the building will be nearly twice the size of Belfast City Hall and the central feature of the overall Titanic Quarter development. It will play a central role in establishing Northern Ireland as a world-class tourist destination as well as providing an important resource of lasting value to the community.
Belfast is the birthplace of Titanic and this attraction will provide visitors with a truly unique experience they cannot get anywhere else. We have numerous heritage sites associated with the Titanic story such as the Nomadic, the Thompson Dock and Pumphouse, the slipways and the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices — the linkage of which are, also, all essential to the wider experience.
We estimate approximately 400,000 visitors per year will visit the attraction, of which between 130,000 and 165,000 will be additional visitors to Northern Ireland — a real step change in terms of tourism.
The main exhibition and Flying Theatre will create 65 jobs directly (41 full time), and more than 100 jobs in the banqueting, restaurant, café and community space.
From an access point of view, the Titanic Signature Project is perfectly located: close to the city centre; road and rail links; the ferry terminal and George Best City Airport.
The site is also easily accessible by car; 550 car parking spaces will be located in the basement of the building.
For local tourists, the recently announced financial commitment to build a rapid transit system linking east and west Belfast, which will include a route that includes the Titanic Quarter, is also warmly welcomed.
The additional hotel accommodation planned for the Quarter is also to be commended.
With the Titanic Signature Project, Northern Ireland will achieve stand-out in an increasingly competitive international marketplace by ensuring that we have the right attractions allied with our renowned welcome and outstanding scenery, to exceed the expectations of our visitors.
Alan Clarke is chief executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board
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The bottom line is that T.Q. is another lucrative real estate opportunity, it has already been criticised by BMAP because the developers were wrangling over their obligations to provide proper civic amenities and housing which will be accessable to the ordinary person.
The TPS is designed by Eric Kune, it is basically another Odyssey complex and the (so called) state of the art attraction is the same as that fitted in the Dinluce centre ten years ago which is now closed down because nobody used it!
Is there any organised opposition to this?
Posted by Johnny | 15.01.09, 05:41 GMT
I have to agree with Spence, the bottom line is that this project was slammed by the lottery fund who rejected funding as a result of innadequate community consultation and potential benefit, they also said the application was poorly developed... So we have to pay for it because some folks will look a bit silly if this does not go ahead after all the corporate hoo ha and boasting about how wonderful it is all going to be.
Posted by Johnny | 15.01.09, 05:38 GMT
Strikes me that the content of this 'iconic building' has not been well thought out. Are we just going to get a glorified Dunluce Centre (Portrush).
As for good architecture if Zaha Hadid designed this we would know all about it. I work on International projects all the time and I am frequently required to produce International Benchmarking White Papers to support Development agendas. I thought it would be a good idea to include the Titanic Quarter once and my boss laughed his head off. What does that say to you about the standard we are getting from this speculative development?
I think they are more concerned about shifting under-sized, monotonous and over-priced apartments than producing anything of substance.
I hate to say this but it is true.
Posted by M Spence | 10.12.08, 00:18 GMT
Another bright idea from the people who put up the 'Welcome to Belfast' sign on the Grovesnor Road, with a steel spiked pallisade for a backdrop, security cameras above it and a fetching tangle of razorwire as a surround. Not a single penny of public money should go into this farce.
Posted by Plato | 09.12.08, 15:51 GMT
Ben I think that Zaha Hadid was asked to design the signature project. She is considered to be one of the most creative Archetects in the world
Posted by RS | 08.12.08, 16:16 GMT
Patrick below a good point? How has this estimate of 400,000 come about. Can the calculations for this estimate be published so that we can be certain that threats to it, such as the 'one-off' London Olympics opening in 2012, have been taken into account? Is the estimate of 400,000 visitors reasonable when Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard(with more content, better location and a proud British Naval tradition) gets 500,000 visitors per year? Do theCan we see how much profit the project will turn-over per year, or is the tax-payer going to fund a loss-maker?
Don't forget how accurate NITB's forecasts for the Navan Centre turned out. Are they plucking numbers out of the air again?
Posted by Nate | 08.12.08, 13:15 GMT
how about just replacing the lost liner with a clone of it.and sit it there in belfast, every human would love to walk and feel power that it once had,better then a building and parking lot..build a ship, and they will come........remember what people are wanting to see.a ship, not a building or a show of photos and movies, walk on it, touch it, and have a meal on it..that will sell..........good luck.
Posted by The Bandit | 07.12.08, 00:38 GMT
You might get 400,000 in the 1st year if you are very lucky and it turns out to be an outstanding feature. After year one , its a dead duck. Who makes your guesses for you? I mean after the 240,000 locals see the 1st year ,are they really going to come back every year? Wow!
Waste of money.
Posted by Patrick | 05.12.08, 17:56 GMT
Did he honestly compare this Titanic building to the Library at Alexandria?
Posted by Chris M | 05.12.08, 15:52 GMT
The mention of something like Guggenheim Bilbao is interesting as Titanic Quarter really should have done this properly and hired a name architect like Frank Gehry to design this. I find the current design very underwhelming. Some icon.
It's also a shame that so much of the inside of the building seems to be empty conference and "community" space.
The flying theatre showcasing Northern Ireland scenes sounds dreadful and I can't see what business it has in a Titanic museum.
What exactly is going to be in this thing that so much public money is now funding?
Posted by Ben | 05.12.08, 15:02 GMT