Belfast City Council has commenced the first phase of conservation works at the historic Assembly Rooms in Belfast city centre, a Grade B1-listed building dating to 1769 that has stood vacant since 2000, as reported by The Irish News.

The council acquired the building in September 2025 following years of calls to save the structure. The first phase of works, undertaken jointly with the World Monuments Fund through the Paul Mellon Fund for Architectural Preservation, involves weatherproofing and repainting the building's façade based on historic paint analysis, alongside the installation of exterior signage for local and international visitors.

Conservation architect James Grieve, who is overseeing the restoration plan, described the Assembly Rooms as the first municipal and civic building in Belfast, saying the story of the Assembly Rooms was the story of Belfast. He noted that as the town progressed and grew more prosperous, the building developed alongside it, adding that where mile markers out of the city take their bearings from is the centre of the building at four points.

Grieve said the building had a very strong connection with Irish traditional music, citing the Harp Festival of 1792, which emerged from discussions among prominent figures including Henry Joy McCracken, Dr James McDonnell, and Mary Anne McCracken, who gathered musicians from across the country at the site.

Magnus von Wistinghausen, executive director at WMF Britain, said the external works getting under way marked an important step, adding that it was important to signal visually that things had not just been decided, but that work was actually taking place very quickly.

Councillor Joe Duffy, chair of Belfast City Council's city growth and regeneration committee, described the commencement of restoration work as hugely significant as part of the area's regeneration, particularly ahead of the Fleadh. He noted that the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, being held in Belfast for the first time from 2 to 9 August, was expected to attract between 800,000 and one million visitors, and that a pop-up outdoor stage would be erected at the Assembly Rooms site during the festival to provide free public access for musicians and audiences.

The World Monuments Fund added the Assembly Rooms to its 2025 watchlist of 25 global heritage sites facing urgent challenges, reinforcing the building's international significance as a conservation priority.