Over the past year alone, Belfast has undergone an extraordinary physical transformation. Our tourism offering has expanded with the addition of hotels and hospitality venues, a host of retailers have opened new city centre stores, and the rise in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) has brought renewed energy to areas once characterised by dereliction.
Yet, amid this visible success story, one vital ingredient remains elusive – people living in the city centre.
While many cities across the UK and Ireland have embraced city centre living as the cornerstone of their regeneration strategies, Belfast remains significantly underpopulated. After the office lights go out, too many of our streets fall silent. For a modern, confident capital city – and one with a housing crisis – that must change.
At Belfast Chamber, we believe that a vibrant residential population forms an integral element of regeneration. The argument is simple – if Belfast is to thrive, it needs more people calling it home.
We know the demand is there, we just need to find a way to fix the supply. It’s not a unique city problem, but it’s a stubborn one that will require new thinking and new approaches to address.
A growing city centre population brings tangible and far-reaching benefits. It supports small businesses, cafes, restaurants and cultural venues that rely on daily footfall. It encourages active travel and public transport use, reducing congestion and emissions, and increases safety and community ownership, ensuring the city remains alive and welcoming at all times.
Moreover, fixing these issues would attract swathes of capital and investment to our city, benefitting existing communities and building new ones.
Crucially, it underpins a sustainable, circular economy, and one in which money spent locally stays local. One of the most positive and productive ways in which to raise revenues for our city and region is to grow the rate base.
However, despite this clear logic, the lack of housing supply in Belfast city centre remains a significant barrier to growth.
Part of the solution to the puzzle lies with the Build-to-Rent (BTR) model. This housing type has already gained traction in other UK cities and in the Republic of Ireland – including Dublin, Cork, and Galway – and, whilst it is a new concept for Northern Ireland, it could be a game-changer for Belfast.
Build-to-Rent developments offer professionally managed, high-quality rental homes and represent a new way of living that encourages collaboration and a sense of community. By incorporating shared amenities such as gyms, co-working spaces, and landscaped courtyards, BTR schemes promote a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle while fostering connections among residents.
They appeal not only to young professionals, key workers and families seeking flexibility without compromising on quality, but also to those downsizing and to graduates who wish to continue co-habiting after experiencing quality shared accommodation through the many PBSA schemes across Belfast.
Importantly, BTR schemes can be delivered at pace and scale – something which Belfast needs in order to close its housing gap.
Loftlines, Belfast’s first major residential project to be built in 25 years, is a landmark mixed-tenure development that will include Northern Ireland’s first BTR scheme.
Currently under construction in Belfast’s iconic Titanic Quarter, the development will deliver 778 waterfront homes for 1,700 residents, including 627 BTR apartments alongside 81 new social houses and 70 discounted or private rent homes. This represents a £150m investment by Legal & General, which will act as a catalyst for further investment, regeneration, and development in the city’s Titanic Quarter.
These BTR developments reflect the standard and style of living now expected in global cities worldwide. This is crucial for attracting and retaining talent, as skilled professionals might otherwise overlook Belfast in favour of other regions that offer modern, high-quality living.
Loftlines, by raising the bar for residential accommodation, makes Belfast a more attractive option for attracting skills and investment to the region.
The wider economic and social benefits are substantial. Build-to-Rent attracts long-term institutional investment, creates stable rental communities, and fuels growth in local retail and hospitality.
In addition to new build properties, repurposing and redevelopment options should be explored.
The ‘space above the shops’ could house thousands in our city if solutions could be found to regulation challenges and viability, as they have been in other cities. It is currently unsure whether any government and council departments with a vested interest are seriously looking at this.
Right now, it is estimated that over one million square feet of office space lies vacant across the city. Much of this stock is ill-suited to the needs of modern occupiers and it is becoming a long-term liability for both landlords and public bodies. This poses the question – can we repurpose some of this redundant space to create new homes? Again, we can look to what other cities have done – no need for reinvention here.
Of course, repurposing is rarely straightforward. Developers face a complex mix of planning, viability, funding and technical challenges, but where there is the right blend of vision, policy support and financial incentive, the prize is worth the effort.
This is where planning policy and political leadership become crucial. Belfast needs a planning environment that is agile, flexible and responsive to the city’s evolving needs.
Other cities – from Manchester to Rotterdam – have demonstrated that bold, proactive planning can unlock whole new residential quarters and create the mixed-use neighbourhoods that define successful urban regeneration.
Belfast has always been a city that reinvents itself. The regeneration we have witnessed has been remarkable, but the next stage must be about creating a living city.