Investment Programme 2012 - 2015

As a council, it's our job to provide leadership for Belfast, so the city can grow, prosper and reach its full potential.

We believe that now is the time to invest in our city so, in February 2012, all parties in our council signed up to the Investment Programme, a £150 million package of balanced investment measures to stimulate the local economy, improve quality of life and provide opportunities for all.

Read more about the background to the Investment Programme

You can also read the Investment Programme in full by using these links:

Download Investment Programme 2012 - 2015 (PDF - 7.92MB)
Download Investment Programme 2012 - 2015 (Word - 216KB)

Alternatively, use these links to read about our commitments in each of the following areas:

Latest updates

Updated - April 2013

Since we launched the Investment Programme, we have:

opened £487,000 of mountain bike trails at Barnett Demesne - this world-class facility, the first in Belfast and with the only official dirt jump park in Ireland, is free to use and suitable for all levels. You can see how the trails look in the photo gallery on this page.
completed a £3 million refurbishment of the Mary Peters Athletics Track in time for the World Police and Fire Games 2013 - this renovation includes a eight-lane track similar to that installed at the Olympic stadium in London, a 400 seater spectator stand and a new field area
work is also underway to refurbish Dunville and Woodvale Parks and install a new pitch at Hammer Complex - we're contributing £2.21 million towards these projects
attracted or levered in funding of £58 million for major physical projects, including £13.7 million to bring ultra-fast broadband to Belfast as part of the Super-connected Cities project and £37.7 million for the Connswater Community Greenway project in east Belfast
submitted funding applications worth around £28.7 million to deliver key economic infrastructure projects, including a new conference centre at Belfast Waterfront and plans for an Innovation Centre in west Belfast
delivered 156 permanent and 63 temporary job opportunities, and more than 200 work placements, at no extra cost to the ratepayer
provided a pre-employment support programme for 39 long-term unemployed people, with five Business Support Clerk positions available at the end of the programme
offered 10 apprenticeship opportunities in a range of areas, and launched a bursary scheme to help young people explore employment, education and training opportunities
helped more than 100 businesses explore new opportunities through our business programmes
provided nearly £3 million in grants to community and voluntary organisations to support community development, good relations and community safety initiatives
improved neighbourhoods by taking action on 250 derelict and dilapidated buildings, with an investment of over £500,000
set up three funding streams – Belfast Investment Fund, Local Investment Fund and Feasibility Fund – to 'channel' finance towards projects which will deliver for the city.

This is in addition to:

achieving a freeze on the district rate (our portion of your rates bill) for 2013-14 - this represents a 2.7% reduction in real terms when inflation is taken into account
generating £16 million in efficiency savings since 2006, with a target of achieving £20 million by 2015 - this includes savings of nearly £4.5 million since the launch of the Investment Programme in February 2012.