Regeneration in Belfast

Image: Gasworks Business Park Some of the city's key development projects include:

Titanic Quarter

One of Europe's largest waterfront regeneration developments on the banks of Belfast's River Lagan, Titanic Quarter is transforming 75 hectares of former shipyard lands into a new focal point for Belfast.

The first two phases of project cover a quarter of the entire site and will include around 2,500 residential units, over 50,000 square metres of workspace, 10,000 sqm of leisure facilities, two hotels, a signature tourism project to mark the birthplace of the Titanic, over 7,000sqm of retail space and a further education college.

Web: www.titanicquarter.com

Giant's Park

Giant's Park will be a landmark public park for north Belfast and the entire city. It will be made up of around 220 acres of land, currently the Dargan Road Landfill site on the North Foreshore beside Belfast Lough.

Sirocco Quays

Sirocco Quays is a 16 acre mixed-use regeneration waterfront project in the centre of Belfast overlooking the River Lagan.

The scheme will consist of approximately 2,200 residential apartments, 8,900 square metres of office space, 4,000 sqm of restaurant space and 8,700 sqm of retail space along with a four star hotel. Construction on the scheme is scheduled to commence in 2009 and has a 10 year development programme.

Web: www.carvill-group.com

Port of Belfast

In July 2007, the Port of Belfast announced plans to reclaim 120 acres of land from Belfast Lough at a cost of £630 million to accommodate economic growth. According to an independent economic impact report, such significant investment is required to cater for a projected doubling in the level of traffic handled by the Port by 2025.

Capital investment projects during 2008 included the completion of a new £35 million facility for Stena line at Victoria Terminal 4, extension of the Port's deep water berth, road improvements and general infrastructure projects.

Web: www.belfast-harbour.co.uk

Victoria Square

Belfast's newest retail-led development opened at Victoria Square in the city centre in March 2008 at a cost of £320 million.

Covering a 1.8 hectare site, the development includes 68,000 square metres of retail space (including a 20,000sqm House of Fraser anchor store), 106 apartments, 1,000 car park spaces and an eight screen Odeon cinema.

The scheme incorporates two covered, multi-level streets linked to a huge glass dome with viewing platform.

Web: www.victoriasquare.com

Northern Ireland Science Park

Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) provides flexible business accommodation and enterprise support for hi-tech companies within the 180 acre Titanic Quarter site.

The organisation has four facilities currently in operation offering over 10,000sqm of letable space. Current accommodation is fully let to companies ranging from global giants like Citi and Microsoft, through to spin-out projects from Queen's University Belfast and University of Ulster.

Web: www.nisp.co.uk

Laganside

One of the longest running regeneration projects is the work of the Laganside Corporation who, from the late 1980s, have co-ordinated the successful regeneration of the Lagan waterfront, turning ignored and derelict river front land into prime real estate.

Lagan Corridor Project

The Lagan Corridor Project was initiated in 2006 to rejuvenate the waterway. Over the next few years, around 17 kilometres of the Lagan Navigation, from Belfast to Lisburn, will be re-opened.

Survey work is already underway to build a new lock and footbridge at Lock One at Stranmillis Weir, while it is planned to re-open two more locks in the near future, extending full waterway use right up to the City of Lisburn.

The Gasworks

Our own Gasworks Business Park is a good example of what can be done with previously heavily contaminated inner city land.

It wasn't commercially viable for a private company to redevelop the land but, working with others and with funding from Europe, we created a financial business park which has generated thousands of jobs for the city.