Belfast City Centre bar’s delight as council withdraws planning enforcement notice

The National had been issued with an enforcement notice by Belfast City Council regarding a beer garden extension

A Belfast City Centre bar has welcomed the withdrawal of a planning enforcement notice it received regarding a beer garden extension.

The National, on High Street, in the city centre received a planning enforcement notice from Belfast City Council regarding its beer garden extension, saying that it had to completely demolish it.

It came while the popular bar run by the Beanchor Group was awaiting a decision on a planning application for the structure, which is still yet to be made.

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Cathedral Leisure, an entity within the hospitality group, has stated that it has had constructive conversations with the council over the past 18 months regarding the planning application and extension.

Now, Belfast City Council has confirmed to it that the enforcement notice issued to The National has been formally withdrawn, with the bar hoping that it can resolve any outstanding issues in the near future.

A spokesperson for Cathedral Leisure said: “With a planning application for change of use and replacement of the temporary structure on Skipper Street in the planning system for some time, we have had constructive discussions with the planning authority over the last 18 months.

“We have received confirmation that the enforcement notice has been withdrawn. We are confident the matter will be fully resolved in the very near future.”

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