'We are seeing the vulnerability of these older buildings to fire and we are concerned with so much built heritage in the area already under threat from redevelopment and demolition.'
An advocacy group raising awareness of good urban development in the Cathedral Quarter area of Belfast says that the recent fire highlights the importance of preventing built heritage.
"We are just a group of volunteers who organsied ourselves in opposition to that and to try to raise public awareness about what was being proposed, what it would mean for that part of the city, what some of the alternatives should be and the principles of good development that the council should consider when looking at that as a planning proposal."
"Since the Arcade fire, nothing has been done to it and it was never restored. We are seeing the vulnerability of these older buildings to fire and we are concerned with so much built heritage in the area already under threat from redevelopment and demolition. "As a campaign group, we never just talk about old buildings for their own sake but we talk about what they are able to offer the city and how they differ from new buildings. The scale of them allows for a wide variety of uses and allows them to adapt over time so they are actually the most sustainable kind of architecture you can get.