Minutes:
The Chairperson welcomed Ms. F. McGrath, Head of Place Shaping, and Ms. C. Wright, Housing for All Lead for Belfast Area, representing the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) to the meeting.
The NIHE representatives presented to the Committee an overview of the City Centre Waiting List (CCWL) which included:
· Background to the CCWL - Increase in housing need; difficulty securing land in traditional areas throughout the city; recognition of development opportunities within the city centre; new city centre Common Landlord Area (CLA) was approved and presented to the Council in 2012 and aligned with the Council’s City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy;
· City Centre Common Landlord Area (CLA) - Creation of city centre boundary to attract growth in higher density apartment living; mixed use/tenure schemes; CLA not created due to no available scheme in 2012;
· Latent Demand Test - NIHE sought expression of interest for city centre living from approximately fifteen thousand applicants and transfers on Belfast Waiting List in 2020; virtual list created to enable NIHE to consider type of demand for the area; unable to progress until a scheme was under construction;
· CCWL Project Team - Dargan House, Loft Lines, was the first city centre scheme under construction; project team established in Spring 2025 to oversee delivery; expression of interest for city centre living sought from twenty-two thousand households in July 2025; to date, over four thousand had indicated their interest in city centre living;
· Housing for All Programme – The programme came out of the Executive’s ‘Together: Building a United Community’ Strategy; NIHE took overall responsibility of managing the shared housing programme in February 2024 (previously managed by the Department for Communities;
· Belfast Housing for All Overview - NIHE manage the delivery of programme, working across Belfast to support, currently, eight developments with a total of four hundred and fifty households; developments not classified as shared until all homes are allocated;
· Local Advisory Groups - Five Local Advisory Groups across the shared housing communities; managed by Housing Association to support the development and delivery of Good Relations Plans (GRP); Advisory Groups include a wide range of stakeholders; plan to develop a Belfast Advisory Group Forum;
· Good Relations Plans - Pre-handover GRPs start when a development is invited onto the programme; five-year GRP begins when homes are fully allocated and deemed shared; longevity of plans key component to success of programme; key actions include promotion, Engagement, Bonding, Bridging, Learning and Sustainability;
· Dargan House, Loftlines - First City Centre scheme to be allocated from new city centre waiting list; invited onto Housing for All Programme; Strategic Oversight Forum to consist of key stakeholders; Collaborative Housing Partners Project Team;
· Dargan House, Loftlines, Project Plan - Development of a Memorandum of Understanding between NIHE and Housing Association to enable information and knowledge sharing; development of an enhanced Good Neighbour Agreement, Community Charter and Tenancy Success Programme Pilot;
· Future City Centre Schemes - Two further schemes with planning approval on the Social Housing Development Programme (Marlborough House and Pilot Street); other schemes in early stages include Inner North West, North Street/Donegall Street, Weavers Cross and Waterside/Sirocco; and
· City Centre Living - Additional choice for those in housing need and will not replace support for social housing in other areas; city centre living in support of Belfast Agenda to increase the population of the city centre; need to ensure access to services and to be mixed use/tenure neighbourhoods.
During discussion, the NIHE representatives answered a range of questions in relation to social housing applicants’ areas of choice, viability of city centre development, access to services and facilities, the Housing Executive’s engagement with statutory partners and stakeholders, and tenant engagement and support. Members also highlighted the value and positive impact of the Local Advisory Groups and the Good Relations Plans.
In response to a Member’s query, the representatives advised that further detail would be provided in due course in relation to the viability challenges associated with delivering homes within the city centre against Total Cost Indicators (TCI) and Housing Association Guide (HAG) levels. The representatives also agreed to provide further detail in respect of the Housing Executive’s collaborative work to support vulnerable people and the demographic information regarding those who had expressed interest in city centre living.
The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.
After discussion, the Committee noted the information which had been provided and that, where relevant, the Housing Executive would provide further information on the issues raised.