Belfast Council commits to saving cherished indie book store

Keats and Chapman on North Street closed on October 30

Belfast City Council has committed to finding new premises for the cherished Keats and Chapman bookstore and has commissioned a report to look at the state of small indie shops in the city centre.

At the November meeting of the full council this week, elected representatives from various parties bemoaned the closure of the Keats and Chapman book shop at North Street, which closed last Friday after 22 years at its location.

Over £10,000 was raised to help Keats and Chapman stay at the site, but to no avail, amid plans for a major residential and retail redevelopment of the area. The owner said they were being effectively evicted from their current premises because of the proposed redevelopment.

Castlebrooke Investments, the landowner of a large swathe of the Cathedral Quarter, including North Street, failed to deliver its controversial “Tribeca” retail and office scheme after nine years of delays. It recently changed its plans for the area to a residential-led neighbourhood development focusing on housing and hospitality.

These revised plans have not yet gone to the Belfast City Council Planning Committee. Councillors have been highly critical of the Tribeca plan in recent years, and the council has acquired a small parcel of land in the area, including the Assembly Rooms, and intends to acquire more.

At this week’s full council meeting at City Hall, Alliance Councillor Micky Murray said: “We all know that the Vacant to Vibrant scheme has really benefitted businesses in the city centre and on arterial routes, and I have been out to see what we can do with them, moving premises and expanding their businesses.

“But two closures in the city in the past week have affected my constituents. One of them is the owner of Keats and Chapman bookstore, which closed its doors on Friday. If you were ever in there, it was like something from a fantasy novel, the books were packed to the ceiling and you could find anything in there.

“On Saturday, Barnum Ice Cream on the Lisburn Road closed their doors after 40 years. Both closed for different reasons, one due to the cost of business and retirement, the other because they were caught up in the fiasco around Castlebrooke.”

He said: “I have a real concern about the closure of small, independent businesses in Belfast. Keats and Chapman was one of the last independently owned book stores in the city, probably the last in the city centre. Our officers have been great in trying to find them somewhere else in the city centre that is suitable for their needs.

“I have two proposals, one that we get a report looking at small independent businesses, the rate at which they are closing, and what we can do in addition to support those businesses. The second would be around Keats and Chapman, but I am almost unsure of what to ask for.

“The team is great in trying to help us secure somewhere else, and in speaking to property owners in the city centre to try and find something. But I just don’t understand with all the vacant premises in the city centre how we can’t find somewhere for a bookstore.”

He proposed the council redouble efforts to find new premises for Keats and Chapman. The chamber unanimously agreed to this proposal and a report looking at the state of small indie shops in the city centre.

People Before Profit Councillor Michael Collins said: “I think it would be a massive loss to the city to lose an independent bookstore like this. It would be a huge loss culturally and artistically.

“It was an affordable bookstore, thrift orientated, a place where you can buy cheap books at a time when cost of living seems to be rising exponentially.

“This is not down to traders, this is down to poor planning. Certain developers sat on sites without actually developing them, and that is something for the Department for Infrastructure and this council to address.

“I don’t think we should be allowing subsidies for those developers. There should be developer contributions for small businesses like Keats and Chapman.”

Belfast City Council Chief Executive John Walsh said: “These kinds of businesses are the grain of this place, and no matter what happens in terms of regeneration, we want to ensure we maintain its DNA. We should be looking to save this type of business. Know that I have put officers on a mission to find somewhere else, so we will ensure those efforts are maintained.”

SDLP Councillor Donal Lyons said: “We do have to look at some of the initiatives that have been taken, be it in the Republic or across the water, that have actually empowered local government to intervene in these matters. Initiatives we have not taken here.”

He said: “Belfast has such a great identity and character to it, that it would be scandalous if we didn’t take all steps to protect the High Street.”

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