A deal to incorporate a BBC studio into the £100m Belfast Stories visitor attraction has been paused after Sinn Féin councillors triggered a formal review of the decision.

The Belfast City Council approved the partnership by 30 votes to 24 on 1 July, but Sinn Féin lodged a call-in request, a mechanism available when 15 percent of members believe a decision was not properly considered on procedural grounds or may disproportionately affect the community. The party holds 22 of the council's 60 seats.

Sinn Féin said it had repeatedly sought clarity on meetings between senior council officials and the BBC about the enhanced studio space but received no detailed records. The party stated that the flagship development should not have a financial relationship with a state broadcaster and warned the arrangement could face legal action.

SDLP councillor Carl Whyte said he was very concerned the delay could put the entire project at risk, citing past hold-ups such as Casement Park. Alliance councillor Michael Long said each few months of delay was costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, and that without the enhanced studio the local arts sector would suffer. Green Party councillor Áine Grogan confirmed her party had also voted against the deal, citing a lack of transparency on the economic and legal arrangements.

Under the proposal, the BBC would use the studio for up to 140 days a year for at least 10 years. The space would not carry BBC branding and would be available to other organisations for exhibitions, film screenings and cultural events. A BBC spokesperson said the arrangement would help Northern Ireland's screen industries thrive by supporting studio-based production.

The council said councillors were updated through committee meetings and party briefings, and that the vote at full council was the final decision. The call-in process is expected to run until at least September.

Construction on Belfast Stories is due to begin before the end of 2026, with the attraction forecast to open in 2030. The project at the former Bank of Ireland site on Royal Avenue aims to boost city centre tourism through words, pictures and sounds depicting Belfast's past, present and future.

DUP group leader Sarah Bunting accused Sinn Féin of allowing ideological opposition to anything British to obstruct progress. She argued that if the public service broadcaster involved were RTÉ rather than the BBC, the party would have rushed to approve the deal, and urged decisions to be judged on merit rather than constitutional politics.