Agenda item

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development reminded the Committee that it had received regular updates and provided approvals relating to the progression of the next phases of ‘A Bolder Vision’ City Centre Connectivity Study. At its meeting in April, Members received an update on the completion of a tender process that resulted in the appointment of a multidisciplinary team, led by the Jacobs Belfast office.

            She advised that the Phase 1 work, A Bolder Vision for Belfast, which had been ratified by the Council in March 2020 and subsequently approved by the DfC and DfI Ministers, was an ambitious and transformational approach and involved a fundamental rethink of how streets and places were used to make them attractive, inclusive, accessible, healthy, and vibrant places.

            She highlighted that there were four agreed Visioning Principles to inform future city centre development and infrastructure delivery:

·        Creating a healthy, shared, vibrant and sustainable environment that promoted wellbeing for all, inclusive growth and innovation;

·        Fundamentally changing the centre of Belfast to prioritise integrated walking, cycling and public transport and end the dominance of the car;

·        Providing lively, safe, and green streets linking inclusive shared spaces to promote resilience and enhance our built heritage; and

·        Removing severance and barriers to movement between the centre of Belfast and the surrounding communities to improve access for all.

            She informed the Committee that the increased emphasis on public health and well-being, access to quality open space, sustainable transport and connections to services and access to amenities were key issues that came to the fore throughout COVID. There was an urgency therefore to respond to this changing landscape and it was intended that the next Phases of the Study would seek to seize these new opportunities and changes in public policy and citizen behaviours that would help drive change and enable the diversification of the city centre.

            She provided a summary of Phases 2 and 3 of the Study which would roll out over the next 12 months. Initial work was underway for Phase 2 which would take place between May-September 2021 and would create the documentation for the public consultation in Phase 3. Key outputs in Phase 2 consist of:

·        Baseline and Vision Review; Benchmarking;

·        Stakeholder Engagement and Public Awareness Communications Plan;

·        Scenario planning and development of interventions, including the development of a multi-criteria assessment framework to assess the scenarios and the initial identification of short, medium and long term interventions for streets and places;

·        Draft Monitoring Strategy, Business Case and Strategic Environmental Assessment; and

·        Draft Strategy for public consultation.

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development informed the Committee that the scenario planning would help prioritise and align major infrastructure projects and identify packages of potential initiatives that would continue the re-imagination of streets and spaces in the short term and support longer term changes.

            She advised that, in advance of the public consultation, there would be focused co-design sessions consisting of a Visioning workshop and thematic workshops with cross-sector stakeholders, including Council Members, between mid-June to mid-July to shape the scenarios and interventions.  She highlighted that the purpose of these initial sessions would be to shape the draft Strategy document prior to the public consultation in the autumn and might take a hybrid approach online via an interactive platform, such as Mural or via webinars and Virtual Rooms. Subject to COVID guidelines, there might also be the opportunity to hold face-to-face sessions that were prebooked and would consist of a blend of virtual information and in-person interaction.

            She pointed out that a Stakeholder Engagement and Public Awareness Communication Plan was also being developed and would be supported by both the Jacobs team and the Council, DfC and DfI Corporate Communications.

            She reported that this work would link in with key Council strategies, including the Resilience Strategy, the Cultural Strategy and the Clean, Green, Inclusive and Safe Programme as well as major capital programmes, including the Belfast Streets Ahead, Belfast Rapid Transport Phase 2, and the Junctions Improvements work strands to ensure an holistic approach to addressing our issues through adequate infrastructure planning and provision. It would also consider major development planned for the city centre, as well as the criticality of connections with communities.

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development advised that Phase 3 was scheduled to take place between September 2021-May 2022 and the key activity was the 12-week public consultation programme which was envisaged to take place between September-December 2021.

            In response to Members questions, the Director of City Regeneration and Development confirmed that the consultant Jacobs would be able to undertake a broad scope of work, and also advised that the Workshop could demonstrate ‘quick-wins’ to envisage what  the interventions might look like in the City.

            During further discussion, Members raised concerns in relation to the timeline of expected developments and the need to incorporate existing plans into this work and the importance of interventions, such as the greening of the City Centre, together with the long term maintenance and ownership responsibilities of new types of public realm. The Director of City Regeneration and Development also provided further information in relation to the ongoing engagement with Business Groups including the Belfast Chamber.

            The Members of the Committee recommended that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to:

·        Note the appointment of a multi-disciplinary team and the timeline for the development of Phases 2 and 3 of the Bolder Vision Connectivity Study for Belfast. This work would include co-design workshops, the development of scenarios and interventions to bring forward the principles of the Bolder Vision, and the completion of the draft Strategy for public consultation in the autumn of 2021; and

·        Note that Members would be invited to engage in the Stakeholder and Planning Workshops as outlined within this report.