14:00-16:15 – Thursday 9 June 2022
Onsite Workshops: Opportunities from Obstacles
These workshops will each start with a site tour by foot or bus, leaving from the MAC. They will run simultaneously and Thursday attendees will be invited to register for their preferred workshop in advance.
1. Maritime Mile: How does the regeneration of the waterfront, an area rich in history integrate with the city?
Location: Titanic Belfast, tour group leaving from The MAC
Themes: Cultural Heritage-led Regeneration, Mixed-Use Development, Digital Connectivity, Waterfront Vitality
Belfast’s waterfront has been under development for over 20 years and continues to go from strength to strength.
This workshop will be an opportunity to explore the interplay of new development and industrial heritage, and to consider ongoing efforts to further integrate the waterfront with the heart of the city.
2. Inner East: How can we stimulate inclusive & sustainable urban inner city growth?
Location: The Belfast Barge, tour group leaving from The MAC
Themes: City Centre Living, Brownfield Regeneration, Inclusive Planning
The eastern banks of the River Lagan remain one of the last post industrial areas of the inner city to be redeveloped.
This workshop will explore the area and ambitious plans for its future.
Join the discussion on board the Belfast Barge and help consider how this opportunity can be fully maximised for the city and its residents.
3. Shaftesbury Square & Botanic: How can we collaboratively design a people-focused space?
Location: Accidental Theatre, tour group leaving from The MAC
Themes: Public Realm, Placemaking, Traffic Management & Overcoming Car Dependency, Dereliction, Methods of Co-Design
This busy location in south central Belfast is the intersection of several neighbourhoods and major city streets. Yet it continues to wrestle with issues of dereliction, deprivation, division and a low quality of public realm dominated by the car.
Join this session to hear and discuss collective efforts to tackle such complexities in partnership with local people.
4. Belfast Grand Central Station and Weavers Cross: How can major transport investment truly connect the city?
Location: Weaver’s Cross, tour group leaving from The MAC
Themes: Public Transport, Active Travel, Green Infrastructure
This workshop will explore the potential opportunities that are arising from the development of a major new transport hub for Belfast. Workshop participants will be transported to the Belfast Grand Central Station development site at Weavers Cross, where they will be given a panoramic view of the area from a viewing platform and introduced to the 8ha site and plans for the new integrated transport hub for the city. The workshop will include a panel discussion with a range of key stakeholders that have been instrumental in developing the plans for the new transport hub that will attract £1bn additional spending into the NI economy, 5000+ construction employment years and help deliver zero emission public transport by 2040.
Key questions and discussions will take place around managing this complex site, both geographically and historically, the wider masterplanning for the area, that will open up opportunities for Belfast, and integrating the communities that live in the area through their ongoing engagement and applying social value principles from the outset of the project.
5. Cathedral Quarter: How can a historic cultural quarter continue to thrive amidst a context of change?
Location: Ulster University, tour group leaving from The MAC
Themes: Arts and Culture, Built Heritage, Further Education & Student Living, Hospitality
The regeneration of Belfast’s historic Cathedral Quarter has been a story of success, seeing it transform into a vibrant arts and cultural destination.
Yet all around this northern area of the city centre, comprehensive change is taking place, most significantly the opening of Ulster University’s state-of-the-art new city centre campus.
This workshop will take you on a journey to learn about this transformation and to discuss how such change can be best harnessed for the future of the city.
