Annual Delivery Plan 2024 - 2025

A key ambition of our community plan, the Belfast Agenda is to attract a further 66,000 residents to the city by 2035 and work in partnership with key agencies to ensure that all residents have access to the high-quality, sustainable homes they deserve. Council has an important role to play in supporting housing-led regeneration across the city.

We also want to ensure that Belfast is a city that can connect people to places in active, accessible, and sustainable ways in the long-term. We will focus on developing infrastructure and amenities that will enable maximum volume of people to travel, whilst doing the least possible harm to the environment and bringing health benefits for all.

Enhancing our city centre is also crucial to ensure that Belfast is a thriving and inclusive destination for residents and visitors alike, one where everyone feels welcome and feels like they belong. We will continue to strengthen and build on our sense of place by accelerating major regeneration schemes, ensuring that we deliver inclusive economic, social, and environmental benefits, whilst protecting and enhancing access to our built and natural heritage.

To enhance our place in 2024-25 we will:

Quality place-making and housing-led regeneration

Actions

1. Progress the development of the Local Policies Plan (LPP) which will contain local policies and site-specific proposals in relation to the development and land use zonings across the city and ensuring alignment with Eastern Transport Plan.
2. Appointment of Private Sector Development /Investor Partner in respect of a number of city centre strategic sites that will act as a master developer to deliver residential-led, mixed-use developments in support of the city’s inclusive growth and regeneration targets.
3. Progress mechanisms to help unlock housing-led regeneration as part of the Housing-led Regeneration Group and Place Based Growth Proposition.
4. Manage the Inner North-West Development Brief, alongside DfC (as joint landowner) and development process for lands in the Inner North-West (INW) Northern Cluster to bring forward a Housing-Led Regeneration scheme.
5. Work with central government departments to ensure placemaking elements projects are delivered in line with A Bolder Vision.
6. Progress the Strategic Site Assessments Phase 2 as part of the Housing-led Regeneration Group to include completion of feasibility; planning, development, and disposal courses of action.

Active and sustainable travel

Actions

1. Oversee the development and delivery of the Belfast public bike hire scheme and undertake a tender exercise to procure a new operator for scheme.
2. Continue to develop Strategic Partnerships with key agencies to deliver ‘A Bolder Vision’ interventions and major projects identified in the Eastern Transport Plan and the Local Development Plan and Local Policies Plan.
3. Support delivery of interventions that encourage modal change through active and sustainable travel as part of quality placemaking and connectivity.
4. Create a more connected city by progressing the delivery of the Greenways Programme**, including:

• Black Mountain Greenway – planning to be submitted and progress to Stage 3 of Capital Programme
• Access to the Hills – continued engagement with SEUPB on PeacePLUS application
• Sydenham Greenway and Colin Greenway – continue to work in partnership with DfI on these key greenway developments

Cultural and tourism development

Actions

1. Deliver Belfast 2024, the city’s biggest ever cultural and creative celebration to celebrate and showcase our people and our place through a portfolio of exciting projects, initiatives, and spectacle events.
2. Deliver 'A City Imagining Plan' the Cultural Strategy including:

• Providing multi-annual funding cultural programme and other grant streams.
• Delivering a range of capacity building initiatives for the sector including initiatives designed to increase accessibility and cultural participation.
• Implementation of the Music Strategy, “Music Matters – a roadmap for Belfast”.

3. Deliver Belfast UNESCO City of Music Programme as part of Belfast 2024
4. Deliver year 3 of the “Make Yourself at Home” Tourism Plan, including:

• Launch and delivery of the Neighbourhood Tourism Development Programme.
• Development of visitor experience of Council Assets (visitor attractions).
• Delivery of the Accessible Tourism programme and Food Tourism programme.

5. Launch and delivery of the Neighbourhood Tourism Development Framework.
6. Deliver the Accessible Tourism programme and Food Tourism programme.
7. Support growth and sustainability of business tourism through investment provided to ICC Belfast.
8. Support the positioning of Belfast in national and international markets through Visit Belfast.
9. Deliver the annual programme of events including Christmas 2024, St Patrick’s Day 2025, Maritime 2025, Made in Belfast and Lord Mayors Day.
10. Develop and deliver plans for major events including Fleadh Cheoil, and Euros 2028.
11. Deliver the Cultural Strategy including additional major events and city events that support the vibrancy of the city.
12. Progress Belfast Stories, a landmark major tourism anchor in the city centre through public design to RIBA stage 3, and completion and submission of the outline business case for BRCD funding approval.
13. Continue to support and progress the delivery of local tourism related capital projects improving community tourism facilities and infrastructure.

City regeneration and investment

Actions

1. Progress infrastructure works at the North Foreshore to support the development of the site**
2. Work with the developer on emerging development specifications for the 250-acre Giant’s Park site through a Master Development Agreement**
3. Deliver the Physical Programme including the Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund (NRF), Local Investment Fund (LIF), Belfast Investment Fund (BIF), Social Outcomes Fund (SOF) and other initiatives to support regeneration and place shaping across the city**
4. Deliver and progress a range of significant strategic regeneration and investment schemes which include:

• Progress options for vesting and /or acquisition by agreement of the Tribeca site and explore options to bring the Assembly Rooms into Council ownership.
• Secure the long-term use of 2 Royal Avenue in line with council’s objectives.
• Progress options for the future use and development of the Sixth in partnership with the Council’s Joint Venture partner.
• Progress comprehensive regeneration scheme at Dunbar bringing together Council and private sector assets to deliver comprehensive placemaking redevelopment.
• Implement Vacant to Vibrant scheme**.
• Advance delivery of schemes aligned to Developer Contributions through the lens of A Bolder Vision.

5. Progress place-based growth proposition to support financing of regeneration and implement the Regeneration Framework to help prioritise and deliver on city regeneration priorities.
6. Engage with partners and government to facilitate, support, progress and enable the Council's preferred position for major infrastructure projects including e.g. York Street Interchange; Belfast Rapid Transit Phase 2; Belfast Cycle Network; Living with Water project; Belfast Streets Ahead; and Weaver’s Cross.
7. Complete a ten-year review of the Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy (BCCRIS) building on the work of the recent Regeneration Trackers, to inform city and council priorities and progress, with partners, priority projects and interventions.
8. Support a joint public-private approach to promoting and positioning the city and city region as a priority location for investment, to underpin the generation, development and infrastructure required to deliver our inclusive growth ambitions.
9. Update and finalise A Bolder Vision to support the transformation and infrastructure development of the city.
10. Deliver the Future City Centre Programme to reimagine the city centre by addressing the five priorities (pillars) including regeneration and connectivity; business and investment proposition; animation and distinctive offering; creating a clean, green, inclusive and safe place; and supporting those who may be vulnerable.

Performance indicators	Targets 2024-25	Direction of travel
Total number of previously vacant city centre properties that have been awarded the vacant to vibrant grant and become occupied as a result**	26	Increase
Total amount of funding (£) awarded to city centre traders to address vacancy**	£420,000	Increase
Number of greenways progressed**	4
Number of Belfast Bike journeys		Increase
Number of projects completed as part of the Physical Programme **	10
Number of emerging projects developing as part of the Physical Programme **	100
Number of organisations supported, and amount invested as part of the Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund **	23 orgs £10.28m

*Statutory performance indicators

**Performance Improvement Plan actions and performance indicators