Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland has announced the next steps for the regeneration of the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre, the location of the proposed Royal Exchange Scheme.

Mr McCausland said: "My department announced in October 2010 that it had concluded that it would be premature to move forward with the promotion of a statutory Development Scheme for the Royal Exchange site at that time as the retail sector was recovering from the effects of the recession. My department also said that it would continue to monitor the performance of the sector and make a further announcement as soon as we were in a position to do so. I intend to make a decision later this year on whether to move forward with a statutory Development Scheme for this area of Belfast City Centre. My Department has therefore commissioned an Urban Regeneration Potential Study for Belfast City Centre to include a retail capacity assessment. This study will inform my decision in relation to the promotion of a statutory Development Scheme.

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"I believe that the time is right to look at the future timescale for the delivery of the Royal Exchange project. We need to look forward beyond the current downturn in the retail sector and ensure that Belfast is in a position to quickly respond to a recovering economy in the years ahead."

(CD)