Belfast Stories – Operational assurance review

Belfast Stories is a flagship city centre development intended to establish a new anchor destination for Belfast and support the next phase of growth in the city’s visitor and creative economy. Supported by investment from the Belfast Region City Deal and Belfast City Council, the project brings together a high-quality public space, a visitor attraction and a creative hub within a single, integrated destination, designed to increase footfall, extend dwell time and support economic, social and cultural regeneration across the Belfast City Region. The main visitor exhibition will be made up of four interconnected galleries communicating the spirit of the city. There will be three screen auditoria and there are plans for an indoor studio to showcase locally produced work and international content, reflecting the importance of the screen industries to Belfast’s success – past, present and future.

There will be a creative hub with a range of spaces to support an ever-developing programme of activities through which we will gather and share stories – the ‘story engine’. It will be a place to meet, learn and collaborate and will provide opportunities for participants from Belfast and beyond to get involved. There will be two cafés / food and drink outlets and a small retail offering celebrating and showcasing local produce. The main public spaces will be a central covered courtyard at ground level and a rooftop garden. Indoor public spaces will also be included at every level in the building. The project funding has been secured, and plans are to open in 2030. For more information go to www.belfastcity.gov.uk/belfaststories

Belfast City Council is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement in advance of a potential future procurement for specialist consultancy support to undertake an operational readiness review.

The anticipated commission is intended to use the current RIBA stage 3 design as the principal reference point against which the assumptions underpinning the business case can be reviewed, challenged and refined.

This is not intended to be a commission to appoint a future operator, nor to prepare a final operator-led business plan. Rather, the purpose is to undertake an independent review to determine whether the assumptions informing the business case are realistic when tested against the practical realities of operating a destination of this scale and complexity based on the current design.

This includes both a review of how the building could be operated when built and if the business is viable based on the assumptions made in the Outline Business Case (OBC) in relation to income and expenditure projections.

The Council expects that this commission will require a multidisciplinary team with relevant expertise across cultural and visitor attraction operations, venue and event management, commercial operations, facilities management, business planning and financial modelling.

The project is currently at RIBA stage 3. As the design develops, the Council requires assurance that Belfast Stories:

- Can be operated effectively in practice

- Aligns with the needs of future operator(s)

- Reflects realistic operational requirements and constraints

- Can be operated as a viable business

The proposed commission will bring relevant experts together to:

- Review the operability of the RIBA stage 3 design including but not limited to the schedule of accommodation, adjacencies and sizes and equipment specification

- Review the proposed visitor journeys / experiences including flows, capacities and dwell times across the site

- Test how the building would operate in practice

- Review the relevant OBC assumptions in relation to income and expenditure projections including but not restricted to:

Income

o admissions / ticket sales

o pricing assumptions

o attendance assumptions

o event income

o food and beverage income

o commercial income

Expenditure

o staffing

o utilities

o maintenance

o facilities management

o technical operations

o programming assumptions

o renewals

The output is an integrated report that covers the points above with recommendations to be taken forward by the Belfast Stories Team and future operator(s). The report will inform both design development at RIBA stage 4, future operator procurement and the Full Business Case.

There are several key documents that will be available to the successful contractor team to inform this review including but not limited to: RIBA stage 3 designs, indicative Operator Financial Model including staffing model, People Movement Study, Visitor Experience Demand Analysis.

The report is to be completed by end September 2026.

At this stage, the Council is seeking preliminary market feedback on the realism, appropriateness and deliverability of this potential commission.

The Council would anticipate engagement by the commissioned team with the Belfast Stories Project Team during the commission. This could including review sessions or workshops to test emerging findings and ensure alignment with the evolving design and business case development.