D3 Planning Amendment
Location – D3, Airport Road West, Belfast, BT3 9DY (adjacent to RSPB Reserve)
Project Summary & Regional Benefits
Belfast Harbour currently has planning permission (ref. LA04/2016/0421/F) for the development of a deepwater quay and supporting land-side development at the D3 site on Airport Road West. Construction has commenced onsite and is due be completed in time for the 2028 cruise season.
The project will see the £90m construction of a new dual purpose deepwater quay which will be able to accommodate some of the world’s largest cruise vessels.
Belfast is already the busiest cruise port on the island and second busiest cruise port in the UK, with 147 cruise vessels having already berthed at Belfast Harbour this year during another successful cruise season. The investment will futureproof Belfast’s position as a leading city for cruise tourism. It will also enable the growth of the already significant contribution of cruise tourism to the regional economy, estimated at between £20m-£25m per year.
Proposed Revisions
Belfast Harbour wishes to make the following amendments to the terrestrial elements of the extant Planning Permission ref LA04/2016/0421/F;
- Upgrade of an existing access track along the north-eastern boundary of the site and installation of associated street lighting/parking area/security hut;
- Relocation of the cruise terminal building and associated parking/drop-off areas further north/northeast on the site;
- Construction of an additional baggage building; and
- Other associated site works in respect of lighting, landscaping, ancillary infrastructure and existing access adjacent to RSPB lands.
Since we last consulted in June 2025, the detailed design has been refined with a number of minor revisions to the layout and parking/coach areas, to ensure a safe and efficient customer experience in line with Belfast Harbour’s operational requirements.
In addition, it became clear that the associated marine licences (for construction, dredging and disposal) were due to expire. In order to ensure continued construction and completion of the project by September 2027, the associated marine licence applications and Environmental Statement were recently updated and resubmitted to DAERA Marine Licensing Team (MLT) in October 2025 for their consideration.
Whilst the marine licences are considered under a separate consenting regime, a number of minor changes in addition to the extension of time are being sought, these changes relate to the marine works and include;
- The project is now being constructed in one phase instead of two (the 2017 ES assessed the whole project with the option to complete it in two phases, subject to available funding); and
- The number of mooring dolphins has reduced from seven to four.
For consistency, the forthcoming terrestrial planning application will take account of these minor revisions, and they will be reflected in the planning drawing package and associated Environmental Statement.
In addition, as the marine related aspects of the 2017 Environmental Statement were updated in October 2025, the Environmental Statement to support the terrestrial application will also include the updated marine related Chapters for consistency.
DAERA MLT will be formally consulting on the marine licences and accompanying environmental information shortly, in line with the requisite advertising and consultation procedures. However, should you wish to receive more information on this separate consenting process, you can also reach out to our planning agents, Tetra Tech RPS, using the details below;
kieron.mcauley@rps.tetratech.com/028 90667914
Tetra Tech RPS
Elmwood House
74 Boucher Road
Belfast
BT12 6RZ
Further Public Information Event
Public information events previously took place in June 2025, and we are pleased to be hosting a further event on Tuesday 2nd December (3pm- 7pm) at:
Belfast Harbour
Harbour Office
Corporation Square
Belfast
BT1 3AL
The project team will be in attendance to present the refined proposals, provide a general update on the status of the project and provide an overview of the content of the Environmental Statement which will accompany the planning application in due course.
If you’re unable to attend, please contact Tetra Tech RPS (Kieron McAuley) using the details above and we are happy to provide more information and/or answer any queries you may have.
We would welcome your views on the proposed revisions and invite you to submit your comments and feedback to our project team using the QR code or link below;
https://forms.microsoft.com/r/yzBHVF41z5
We would be grateful if any further comments could be provided no later than COB Tuesday 16th December 2025.
