Arterial Routes The Arterial Routes Programme Belfast's arterial routes radiating from the city centre are key gateways and the lifeblood for the social economic working of the city. North Belfast Partnership are working in partnership with Belfast City Council, and supporting via Urban II funding, the plans for the key arterial routes in the North of the city. BACKGROUND The Arterial Routes initiative represents a novel inter-agency approach to developing integrated regeneration plans for designated nodes along the key roads into the city. Theses areas, which were once successful locations supporting their surrounding neighbourhoods, now require targeted support to tackle problems of economic, social and environmental decline. North Belfast Partnership continues to make a key contribution via the creative approach with Belfast City Council to bring about a much needed boost of regeneration along the arterial routes. The partnership consists of the Belfast Area Partnerships, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Belfast Regeneration Office and Belfast City Council,who as the lead partner, facilitates the partnership. An estimated £60 million of investment has been secured for projects across the city, identified through Phase I of the Arterial Routes Programme. NORTH BELFAST Following an audit of all the city's main arterial routes, eleven key nodes were identified to be dealt with in a phased approach. The routes in phase one in North Belfast are: Integrated area plans have been developed for each of these nodes and are currently at implementation stage. Projects identified under Phase I - Lower Antrim Road and York Road, have attracted additional funding of £300,000 from the Urban II Programme for environmental enhancements. Initial scooping work has been carried out to identify the regeneration needs for the phase two node: North Belfast Partnership successfully submitted a programme of activity to carry out the local consultation on the Lower Crumlin Road. Staff from North Belfast Partnership carried out one to one discussions with local stakeholders and met with a number of groups across the area to engage them in the consultation process. These discussions involved presenting the background to the arterial routes programme, confirming processes and timescales and outlining planned activity in other areas, in order to raise awareness of the programme and to encourage those present to think about possible issues and initiatives that might be addressed in the area. The initial consultation meetings highlighted a number of potential activities and these were grouped into four main themes: - Movement and Transport
- Physical Renewal
- Culture and Tourism
- Environmental Enhancements
A public meeting was hosted in the Vine Centre in September 2005. This meeting was attended by approximately 30 people and included representatives from key statutory agencies, local residents,church leaders, community representatives and other interest groups. At this meeting North Belfast Partnership presented the key issues to emerge from its initial consultations and engaged the meeting in a series of workshops to identify specific priorities under each of the thematic areas. North Belfast Partnership then invited a multi - sectoral group of key stakeholders to a meeting at the start of October and tasked them with identifying, agreeing and prioritising a shortlist of projects for presentation to Belfast City Council. Attention was drawn to those initiatives that could benefit from the financial support of the £100,000 allocated to each of the phase two areas as part of the Brighter Belfast campaign. The consensus of the meeting was that resources should be prioritised for projects on the upper part of the node (above Cliftonpark Avenue/ Agnes Street junction to Hillview Road) and that particular emphasis should be given to the right hand side of the Crumlin Road heading out of the city. Agreement was also reached on a programme of wider activities as part of a local regeneration plan. As with Phase I efforts will be made to draw down additional funding to complement the Belfast City Council monies available for environmental enhancements along this route. For details of project proposals for the North Belfast Phase Two Node -Lower Crumlin Road, please contact Tracey McCullough on 028 90752990 For more information on the Arterial Routes Programme please visit www.belfastcapitalcity.com
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