Planning permission has been approved to refurbish a former linen warehouse in Belfast city centre into offices.

Belfast City Council's Planning Committee granted permission for Phase Two of the Bedford Street development which includes the conservation, alteration, refurbishment and extension of the listed Ewart Building.

The plans also include a new 17-storey tower, comprising 18,000 square feet of Grade A office space, to the rear of the building and the completion of a new civic square on the Bedford Street site.

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Chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Peter Johnson, said: "One of the jobs of the council, as the local planning authority, is to strike that often fine balance between meeting the needs of a forward-thinking modern city with preserving the more important aspects of its heritage.

"It is great to see this important historic building being brought back into use, and in a way which will see it play its part in the continued development and prosperity of the city, just as it did when it was first built in 1870."

(CD)