140 Donegall Street, BT1 2GX
About Biscuit Factory
140 Donegall Street is a prominent site in Belfast’s city centre, bordered by Carrick Hill, Donegall Street, and Little Donegall Street. The area is characterised by a mix of commercial, residential, and institutional buildings. Historically, the site has been used as a surface car park since at least the 1990s.
140 Donegall Street was the previous location of Marsh & Co Biscuit Manufacturers, Belfast which manufactured biscuits in the north of Ireland for nearly 100 years.
Over the years, multiple development proposals have been submitted for this site:
2006: Straben Developments and RPP Architects proposed a five-to-twelve-story residential development (Z/2006/1544/F), including 226 apartments, ground-floor retail units, and a double-basement car park. The application was approved in June 2008, and initial enabling works commenced in 2013 to construct an entrance to the underground car park.
2015: Northside Regeneration Ltd and RPP Architects submitted an application (LA04/2015/0609/F) for a managed student accommodation building with 710 units and 54 parking spaces. This was revised in 2016 to 620 units. The application was refused in October 2016 but later approved following a successful planning appeal in November 2017.
2018: The surface car park, operated by HandyPark, ceased operations in June 2018.
2019: Archaeological excavations were carried out on-site in October 2019.
2020: Site enabling works were initiated by Gilbert Ash and L. Loughran & Sons in June, followed by additional works by Dawson WAM in August.
In February 2021, LDS DevCo Ltd submitted a revised planning application (LA04/2021/0516/F) for a managed student accommodation development consisting of 724 units, including courtyards, ancillary facilities, cycle parking, and associated site works. This application was approved in April 2023.
In October 2023, construction commenced on site.
In September 2025, it was revealed that the student accommodation development located at 140 Donegall Street would be known as the Biscuit Factory and would be open for the 2026/2027 academic year.
Project Information
Start Date
September 2023
Completion Date
August 2026
Units
724
Cost
£55,000,000.00
Floors
10
Planning References
LA04/2021/0516/FLA04/2021/0516/F
Project Team
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