Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members on Belfast City Council’s involvement in the UP2030 project, which is funded through Horizon Europe.

2.0       Recommendations

            The Members of the Committee are asked to:

                                            i     Note that Belfast, represented by Belfast City Council, is a pilot city within the Horizon Europe UP2030 project, which will focus on the development of a net zero neighbourhood framework and toolkit, the exchange of knowledge between cities and the use of climate tools which support analysis, mapping and engagement in local neighbourhoods.

                                          ii     Note that in the update brought to City Growth and Regeneration Committee on the 9th November 2022, officers proposed that the Linen Quarter District and neighbouring communities would be the initial focus within the project, however noted that no final decision had been taken regarding the location, and also that should the project focus on the Linen Quarter District, Donegall Pass, Market and Sandy Row areas, this would align with the Bolder Vision Strategy and the Belfast Resilience Strategy, while allowing us to consider issues such as the severance and climate issues brought about by the road infrastructure and other factors such as poor public realm and connectivity. 

                                         iii     Note that the City Growth and Regeneration Committee ‘noted the progress of a Horizon Europe Urban Planning 2030 bid to support development of a framework that integrated environmental sustainability and urban development aligned to the creation of a net zero neighbourhood as a pilot proposal and the offer of funding to further develop the project which was confirmed not to be definitive of any area at this stage; and approved the participation of the Council as an Associate Member of the Urban Planning 2030 consortium as identified in the report.’

                                         iv     Note that a further update on the Belfast pilot location will be presented to both City Growth and Regeneration Committee and Climate and City Resilience Committees in due course.

3.0       Main report

3.1       The Belfast City Council Climate Unit and City Regeneration and Development Division are working together to ensure an integrated approach between urban planning, achieving net zero and aspects of resilience such as supporting play and environmental sustainability in the city centre through engagement with key stakeholders such as young people, families, communities and businesses.

3.2       A Bolder Vision for Belfast puts liveability at its core and aims to create a sustainable, connected and vibrant city, and the creation of a people-focused environment with playful streets and spaces for children and families to live and thrive. In December 2020, Belfast launched the Belfast Resilience Strategy alongside the Belfast Net Zero Carbon Roadmap and with the Belfast One Million Trees programme these form key elements of the city’s ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality (80% reduction by 2030 and 100% by 2050). Officers have been working collaboratively to align play, climate neutrality, tree planting and green infrastructure by developing the award-winning Urban Childhood Framework and have been testing these new approaches in the design and implementation of the city centre Cathedral Gardens pop-up park and the new Grey to Green programme.

3.3       As a result of our membership in the Resilient Cities Network, Council was invited to participate in a Horizon Europe funding application from the UP2030 (Urban Planning 2030) fund which has been successful. The kick off meeting occurred on 1st and 2nd February 2023, focused on city matchmaking and identification of the tools to be used within participating pilot cities. Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of €95.5 billion, which looks to tackle climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the EU’s competitiveness and growth and is focused on supporting cities achieve net zero. 

3.4       UP2030 aims to guide cities through the socio-technical transitions required to meet their climate neutrality ambitions. It will do so by enabling a quantum leap from a ´business as usual´, project-by-project decarbonisation approach to a vision-driven, strategy-based approach that is anchored on sound projects and renewed policy development. The approach uses urban planning and design as a vehicle to create better connected, more compact, net-zero neighbourhoods that promote liveability and, through designing with intent, promote mitigation actions.

3.5       The UP2030 consortium is made up of 46 partners (see Appendix 1) with a total budget of €11,956,686. Belfast was selected as one of the pilot cities, and has been nominated to receive €204,250 to support research, training and policy development related to the creation of a net zero district through enhanced tree planting, linking to the Resilience Strategy, Belfast Net Zero Carbon Roadmap, the recently formed Belfast Retrofit Hub, and Belfast One Million Trees project, green infrastructure, linking to the Bolder Vision and Council’s Grey to Green initiative in the city centre, and play, linking to the Urban Childhood Framework, and Belfast’s membership of the Real Play Coalition (a global initiative led by the Lego Foundation, IKEA, ARUP, UNICEF and National Geographic).  The Belfast budget will fund staff costs, facilitation and workshop costs.

3.6       Through the UP2030 funding, we will create a framework that can be applied to regeneration projects that integrates stakeholder engagement, analysis of the neighbourhood through a net zero lens, potential green infrastructure, potential play opportunities and co-design with young people. The framework will support the integration of play and environmental sustainability into city design, delivering on ambitions set out in the Belfast Resilience Strategy whereby young people would be involved in the design of places. To maintain alignment with A Bolder Vision and the Resilience Strategy Ambitions, it was proposed that the framework could be tested in the Linen Quarter District, which has the aspirations of becoming the first sustainable and net-zero business district in Northern Ireland. Should that be agreed as the area of focus representatives from neighbouring communities such as Sandy Row, Donegall Pass and the Market area would be invited to participate in the development and out workings of the Net Zero Neighbourhood framework.  Lessons learned from this pilot will be used to identify opportunities in other neighbourhoods and bring forward the concept of net-zero districts across the city and the intention is to work across council departments and with city stakeholders to elevate and embed the learning and approaches.

3.7       As referred to previously, project delivery will take place over a three-year period, following kick off meetings in February 2023. Belfast has been assigned a liaison partner; an organisation called Mapping for Change who will support the city throughout the project lifespan. Further reports will be brought to this Committee as the project progress. 

4.0       Financial and Resource Implications

4.1       The Horizon Europe UP2030 Project is 100% funded. No additional funding is required from Council however a small team drawn from the Climate Unit and City Regeneration and Development will work together to oversee development and support implementation. The funding is for revenue and does not include any capital costs at this stage.

5.0       Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

5.1       Officers are currently developing the Equality, Good Relations and Rural Needs Screening and will incorporate within the emerging proposals.”

6.0       Appendix 1

6.1       Horizon Europe UP2030 project consortium partners:

            A member welcomed the inclusion of additional neighbourhoods in the project scope.

            After discussion, the Committee noted the contents of the report.