Belfast victorian demolition site quashed
Planning chiefs must now reconsider an application to redevelop the 19th Century warehouse on Queen Street.
It was accepted a conservation area architect should have been consulted, and that a report did not include the costs for alternative schemes.
Heritage campaigners who mounted the challenge have welcomed the decision.
The legal bid to stop the Athletic Stores site from being torn down and rebuilt was brought by the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.
Carlisle Property Developments Ltd wants to transform it into a nine-storey complex with 69 apartments, street level shops and basement parking facilities.
The Society challenged the decision to pass the application by claiming Planning Service failed to consider the price of refurbishment work on a building located within the Belfast City Centre Conservation Area.