The Department for Social Development

Belfast City Centre is undergoing regeneration on an unprecedented scale. The skyline dotted with construction cranes reflects the wealth of projects underway aimed at transforming the city into a high quality, attractive 
urban destination. 
The Department for Social Development (DSD) is responsible for implementing GovernmentÕs regeneration and renewal objectives for Belfast city centre; working with business, the community and government partners to regenerate and promote it as the premier regional centre for shopping, leisure and business in Northern Ireland. There has never been a more exciting time for the city.  At the heart of DSDÕs vision is a sustainable and vibrant city centre Ð a high quality, safe, urban environment attractive to investors, employees, residents and tourists. The regeneration offers many jobs, investment and economic The GovernmentÕs Regeneration Policy for Belfast City Centre was published in April 2004 and set a vision for economic growth in the City Centre outlining a course to achieve that action. It promised a public realm strategy for the heart of the city and regeneration master-plans for the Castlecourt and Cathedral Way areas. The strategyÕs intention is that these efforts will, in time, bring more private investment in retail and office jobs, city centre living and help to kick-start economic activity in neighbourhoods adjacent to the shopping core, all designed to build on a decade of investment in Laganside and the £320 million flagship scheme underway at Victoria Square. This integrated approach to regeneration has provided a comprehensive route map and guide for investors. It emphasises the importance of consolidating the shopping core and maintaining a compact city centre. 
Political developments too have affected business in the region and have brought stability in Northern Ireland that has boosted prosperity. The new Assembly has a clear economic focus and is intent on working closely with the business sector. The past two years have already seen a steady flow of investment come back to Northern Ireland and government stability will increase this trend. 


New Developments
Belfast is a positive thriving city
and within the overall development
there are several jewels that will
build BelfastÕs base for future
generations.
Victoria Square
The flagship Victoria Square
development, BelfastÕs new retail
hub opened in March 2008, the
£320 million scheme is one of
EuropeÕs largest urban renewal
projects and a milestone in the
revitalization of Belfast city centre.
This imaginative project, which
includes 680,000 sq ft of retail floor
space and 106 residential units,
will create 3,000 temporary
construction jobs, 3,000 permanent
leisure and retail jobs, 5 acres of
redevelopment and £100 million
net additional retail turnover.
Victoria Square is planned out as
a new urban neighbourhood. It
incorporates 17 buildings with
existing historic structures being
refurbished. At the centre of the
scheme is a new square and
gardens. This central square is
covered by an immense glass
dome, with a viewing gallery
from which the public can enjoy
breathtaking views across the city.
The completed dome is now part of
the city centre skyline, an iconic
symbol of Victoria Square.
The opening of Victoria Square in
March this year has consolidated
BelfastÕs position as the second
largest retail centre in Ireland.
Home to the largest House of
Fraser in the UK and bringing
some of EuropeÕs top retail and
leisure names to Northern Ireland
for the first time, Victoria Square
has significantly increased the
attractiveness of Belfast for
shoppers, particularly because
the scheme has brought together
BelfastÕs shopping district with its
waterfront by providing a much
needed link between the City
Centre and Laganside. The
transformation of the Lower
Chichester Street link, in front of
the High Court, has provided not
just a much-needed facelift Ð with
a landscaped pedestrianised area -
but also signals the removal of the
last security barriers in the city.
Laganside
Victoria Square builds on the
successful regeneration that been
achieved on the banks of the Lagan
over the past fifteen years. The
Laganside Corporation, which was
wound up in 2007, rejuvenated
the riverfront and the Cathedral
Quarter, attracting over £1 billion
private investment; building
nearly 3 million sq. ft. of office
accommodation, over 1 million sq. ft.
of retail/leisure space and nearly
900 residential units; and creating
nearly 15,000 jobs. The Corporation
also developed 39 acres of public
space and 15,000 ft of walkways
along the River Lagan and made
major streetscape improvements
in Cathedral Quarter.
The Waterfront Hall and The
Odyssey are now well-established
visitor attractions. Sites such as
Belfast Gasworks, Lanyon Place,
Clarendon Dock and Mays Meadow
have been developed into thriving
areas of economic activity, with a
range of employability initiatives
successfully encouraging local
communities to take advantage
of new job opportunities in this
revitalised area.
St. AnneÕs Square and the
development at Four Corners in
Cathedral Quarter are underway.
With the new OBEL Tower at
Donegall Quay beginning to
rise over the riverfront, new
developments will soon move
forward to complete Lanyon
Place in 2008.
The North East Quarter
Since the onset of the peace
process, commercial development
market interest and demand, which
had been pent-up for many years,
is now being realised. Victoria
Square and Laganside are just
the first steps in a much longer
journey. The North East Quarter
of Belfast city centre will be the next area for major retail-led
regeneration following Victoria Square. The scheme has the
working title ÔRoyal ExchangeÕ and is based on proposals
submitted by Leaside and its development partners ING. The
visionary £360 million plan will transform the historic heart of
Belfast, providing two new department stores plus retail
opportunities for local independent traders and international
brands new to the City, office space for arts and cultural
industries, a hotel, 200 apartments and 2,000 jobs.
The Titanic Quarter
There is also further development planned for BelfastÕs
waterfront. Titanic Quarter Ltd has launched an outline
framework for the development of 185 acres of former
shipbuilding land. The £1 billion proposal will transform the
birthplace of the Titanic into a new maritime quarter with the
mixed uses of housing, business, leisure, tourism and education
combined to create a vibrant new community for Belfast.
Expected to generate 20,000 new jobs over the next 15 years, the
new Titanic Quarter will be a major building block in creating the
new economy jobs in information services and technology. The
potential of the Quarter is as extraordinary as the many historic
ships built by the world famous shipyard on the site.
Web. www.dsdni.gov.uk
Tel. 028 9082 9456