JOINED UP VISION FOR BELFAST CITY CENTRE

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Belfast City Centre is changing. A Bolder Vision is our approach for a progressive, 
re-imagined Belfast City Centre that is greener, walkable and connected. 
Improving connectivity is always important and this taken on a new relevance 
and urgency to collectively work to build a cleaner, stronger and more resilient 
city. At its heart, A Bolder Vision is creating a people-focused Belfast. 

Ulster University is opening its new campus, there is growing demand for city 
centre living and increased leisure provision across the city centre. It is vital 
that we plan our infrastructure to shape the city for its future users. We must 
overcome historical issues including severance and barriers to movement that 
are still very prevalent today. 

A number of strategically important projects will be delivered in the next few 
years, including vital public sector projects such as the Belfast Region City Deal 
with Innovation and SMART districts, Belfast Transport Hub, Belfast Streets 
Ahead 3 and 5, Belfast Rapid Transit 2, Cultural Strategy, Belfast Destination Hub 
and York Street Interchange. 

It is important that Belfast captures these opportunities to ensure projects are 
fully integrated and support the needs of the city’s changing user base. This 
will help create an accessible, inclusive city ready to address the challenges of 
climate change and other shocks or stresses. 

In August 2019, Belfast City Council (BCC), the Department for Infrastructure 
(DfI) and the Department for Communities (DfC) completed ‘A Bolder Vision 
(ABV) for Belfast’ for a shared vision of the city centre. This next step is to 
develop a strategy to inform and strengthen proposed projects and actions 
and set out new bold interventions across the city centre. Bolder Vision for 
Belfast will provide the mechanism for a more united approach across planning, 
transport and regeneration. 

A Bolder Vision is our blueprint for moving forward and will guide our future 
infrastructure investment decisions that are ambitious yet deliverable. This is a 
shared vision for BCC, DfC and DfI but it will require everyone to work together, 
make changes and collectively rise to the challenge. Together we can build a 
Belfast that addresses the climate emergency and builds sustainable places that 
supports the health and well-being of all our people now and in the future.