Agenda item

            The Adaptation and Resilience Advisor provided the Committee with an update on the €30,000 Growing and Greening capital program, funded through the Shared Island Fund, which aimed to support community-led sustainable urban food growing and biodiversity initiatives in Belfast.

The program, developed in partnership with Cork City Council, Wild Belfast, Brink!, and Belfast Healthy Cities, focused on enhancing the GROW NI site at The Waterworks.

It included the installation of innovative facilities such as a solar energy array, a 200litre hot composting system, a community shelter, and a composting toilet. The upgrades aimed to extend the teaching season, increase volunteer engagement, and serve as a demonstrator for other community projects.  The capital investments totalled £21,351.

The Members were advised that the solar energy array would quadruple energy generation, while the hot composter would reduce composting costs and time.  The community shelter would enable workshops to be held year-round, potentially doubling the number of participants.  The composting toilet aligned with the ecological values of the project and addresses practical challenges.

The project was on track for completion by the end of February 2026, with plans to utilise any remaining funds for additional relevant capital items.

The Committee was advised that the GROW NI site had also been selected as one of four satellite sites for the EU Horizon-funded UPSURGE project, which focused on urban sustainability.  The designation allowed the site to serve as a test bed for innovative solutions, such as the solar energy system and composting toilet, and share knowledge with other community growing initiatives.

The Adaptation and Resilience Advisor explained that a knowledge-sharing event was planned for February 2026 to showcase the project's achievements.  The event would include demonstrations of the hot composter and tours of the upgraded site, aiming to inspire other community groups and council staff to adopt similar sustainable practices across the City.

            In response to a Member’s query, the Project Support Officer outlined why the Team had purchased the particular hot composter, highlighting that, as the site was close to housing, there were certain health and safety considerations which had to be taken into consideration, as well as its potential to produce long-term savings.

            In response to a further Member’s query, she confirmed that the site was scalable and that the items on site were moveable.

            After discussion, the Committee noted:

               i.          the installation of facilities to increase the volunteer base and extend the teaching season of a community growing project led by GROW NI at the Waterworks site including a solar energy array, an innovative hot composting system, a shelter for hosting workshops, and a composting toilet;

              ii.          that the site was also one of four sites selected to serve as a satellite site to the demonstrator site at Lower Botanic funded through the EU Horizon funded UPSURGE project;

            iii.           the support of community partners Wild Belfast, Brink! and Belfast Healthy Cities in project design and management;

            iv.           the consultative processes used for selecting the site and the cross-departmental collaboration and support provided across Council departments to ensure the project was delivered on time;

             v.          the opportunity for sharing knowledge, replicating across other community growing sites, with a knowledge sharing event scheduled for February 2026;

            vi.           that delivery was scheduled for completion by the end of February 2026 and that opportunities for utilising any underspend were being pursued; and

          vii.           a final report would be brought back to Committee in due course.