Belfast is a city with enormous potential.
We are home to globally recognised businesses, world-class universities, a thriving innovation ecosystem, and a talented workforce. We continue to attract international investment and are increasingly recognised as a city that can compete on a global stage.
Yet, while Belfast has many strengths, businesses are frustrated that progress is not happening at the pace required.
At Belfast Chamber, we are in constant dialogue with our members. From indigenous SMEs to major employers and investors, a common theme emerges – businesses want to see greater ambition, faster decision-making and a clear pathway to growth.
That means pressing for business progress. But it also means pressing for city progress, because the success of our economy and the success of our city are closely intertwined.
Businesses across Belfast continue to navigate significant challenges.
Employment costs have risen sharply, placing additional pressure on employers already managing inflationary pressures and increased operating costs. These employers are also seeking clarity and reform around business rates, taxation and wider fiscal policy to ensure Belfast remains a competitive place to invest and grow.
The ongoing absence of a long-term Investment Strategy and multi-year budgets continues to hamper strategic planning across both the public and private sectors. Businesses need certainty and the confidence that major infrastructure projects, skills initiatives and economic development programmes can be planned and delivered over the long term.
Many of our members are also disappointed by the limited progress made on extending Sunday trading hours. The recent changes stop short of delivering the flexibility required to support a modern city economy and maximise opportunities for retail, hospitality and tourism.
The business community is not asking for special treatment. It is asking for the conditions that enable investment, improve productivity and make us more competitive.
Alongside the issues directly affecting businesses, there is a wider conversation about Belfast itself. The city centre has undergone significant change over the past two decades, but the pace of regeneration is slow.
Since the completion of Victoria Square in 2008, the only major city centre regeneration project sponsored by the public sector has been Translink’s transformational Weavers Cross development.
Meanwhile, strategically important sites such as Tribeca and Sirocco have remained largely undeveloped for many years despite their enormous potential to deliver homes, commercial space, public amenities and economic activity.
The challenges are well understood. Planning processes can be cumbersome and slow, critical infrastructure (eg wastewater) is inadequate, and the consented schemes just aren’t financially viable to build. The latter explains why so many consented schemes are never built and why we have created so few homes in our city centre despite the huge need. This is not unique to Belfast, but what is unique is the lack of solutions to the problem.
There are other more mundane yet key concerns around city centre standards, including cleanliness, lighting, public realm maintenance, vacant buildings and the overall visitor experience.
Taken individually, each issue presents a challenge. Collectively, they create a drag on growth and undermine confidence among investors, developers and businesses.
Belfast needs more people living in its city centre – residential led development would solve so many of our issues. It would support retail, hospitality and cultural activity, improve vibrancy, strengthen public transport usage and help us retain talent.
The reality is that there is no silver bullet to Belfast’s challenges. However, there is a growing appetite to explore new delivery mechanisms that could unlock regeneration and accelerate progress, with one option being the creation of a new multi-stakeholder urban development agency.
Responsibility for stewarding the city centre currently sits across multiple organisations, principally Belfast City Council, the Department for Communities and the Department for Infrastructure, alongside numerous other agencies and stakeholders.
While each organisation performs an important role, the fragmented nature of governance can make decision-making complex and delivery challenging. Shared responsibility can sometimes result in unclear accountability, slow progress and difficulties overcoming development obstacles.
A dedicated development agency could provide a more focused vehicle to bring together expertise, align priorities and work alongside government and the private sector to drive regeneration outcomes.
This is not a new or untested concept – many of Belfast’s most successful regeneration initiatives have benefited from dedicated delivery structures. The transformation of the waterfront and wider city centre through the Laganside Development Corporation remains one of the most significant examples of successful urban regeneration in Northern Ireland.
Across England and Ireland, development agencies continue to play a major role in unlocking housing, infrastructure and investment projects.
The exact model for Belfast requires careful consideration. Questions around governance, planning powers, land assembly, infrastructure delivery and financing would need to be fully explored.
The outcome may support a Development Corporation model. It may identify alternative approaches. Or it may recommend a combination of measures capable of delivering the same objectives.
The important point is that these conversations are taking place, and Belfast Chamber is at the forefront of them.
Belfast has no shortage of ambition, but what we need now is a delivery framework capable of matching that ambition.
Our members want to see a city that can move at pace, unlock major regeneration opportunities, attract investment, create opportunities and support socio-economic growth. They want to see infrastructure barriers addressed, housing delivered, public spaces enhanced and strategic sites brought back to life. Most importantly, they want Belfast to fulfil the potential that everyone can see.
The opportunity is there. The longstanding challenge is turning potential into progress.