Update on The Craft Kit Shankill – A Plan to Grow
The Craft Kit Shankill – A Plan to Grow has been gaining momentum over the past two months, engaging residents and stakeholders in shaping the future of the Greater Shankill area. This initiative aims to develop a community-led vision and action plan for urban regeneration, with four key objectives:
Developing a Comprehensive Framework to guide the physical development of the Greater Shankill.
Creating a Community-led Framework that can inform the Local Development Plan.
Providing an Evidence Base to inform government policy at all levels.
Establishing an Action Plan that will drive future urban regeneration initiatives.
Community Engagement & Progress
So far, approximately 450 people have participated in the consultation process, helping to shape the vision and priorities for the area. Key activities have included:
Neighbourhood Events: Held across six identified neighbourhoods, where residents defined their areas, discussed strengths and challenges, and identified key priorities.
Youth Engagement: Two workshops were conducted with young people at Impact Training, another with over forty young people involved with RCity, and two sessions at the Shankill Women’s Centre.
Survey Participation: Over 250 people have completed and returned the survey, which remains open until the end of April.
Shankill Convention Presentation: The BUILD and Shankill Plan to Grow developments were presented at the Shankill Convention on 19th March, followed by a panel discussion.
Emerging Priorities
Several key themes have emerged from the consultation, highlighting common concerns across the Greater Shankill while also recognizing specific neighbourhood needs:
* Better quality and availability of housing
* Increased employment opportunities
* Safer public spaces
* Improved leisure and recreational facilities
In addition to physical regeneration, discussions have also covered access to health services, transport, shopping facilities, and the need to empower young people and residents to actively shape their community. One of the most positive aspects highlighted by residents is the strong sense of community belonging and connectedness.
Upcoming Event: ‘Imagining Event’ – 7th April
Residents and stakeholders are invited to join the upcoming ‘Imagining Event’ at the Spectrum Centre on 7th April.
Drop-in times:
1:30 PM – 4:00 PM
5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
This is an opportunity to further discuss key issues, priorities, and what should be included in the Shankill Plan to Grow Action Plan. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqHirUn6OlLZRb7j4oujCBnfsPUNNGUg8sCAfzp2Upp83lpw/viewform
BUILD Shankill building Momentum on Physical Regeneration Agenda
After three years of persistent pressure and no resources, BUILD Shankill's campaign for regenerating the Greater Shankill area is gaining significant momentum. BUILD activists have been lobbying at all levels with key community partners and statutory and government agencies for a housing-led physical regeneration strategy for the Greater Shankill community. Three new initiatives started in 2024:
- The Revitalise Project
- Place Shaping in Glencairn
- The Greater Shankill Plan to Grow Craft Kit
The Revitalise Project
At a community level Shankill Alternatives, who had been coordinating BUILD without funds, secured a one year pilot fund for the Revitalise Project. This initiative, led by a dedicated Project Coordinator, launched in August 2024 with four ambitious goals:
- Collaborating with residents to identify potential housing sites
- Developing a comprehensive revitalization plan for Glencairn
- Implementing improvements along Shankill Road
- Supporting the development of Creative Arts Hub within the Shankill
The Revitalise Project has already achieved significant community engagement in Glencairn. A comprehensive survey reached 332 residents—including adults, young people, and children—representing over 10% of the area's population. This data has directly informed several successful community initiatives:
Supporting local groups in The Light Up Glencairn Festival, which drew over 400 residents
Four well-attended events for older residents, featuring community safety advice, music and hamper distributions
Workshops in Harmony Primary with pupils and parents
A community newsletter launched in December and distributed to all residents
Upcoming workshops and events planned for this year.
"It just shows that when residents want to make things happen, and people from different organisations across a community work together, we can learn what people want and start to make small changes," says Jane, the Revitalise Project Coordinator.
The survey findings are already shaping future developments, informing both Belfast City Council's plans for the planned Community Hub/Centre in Glencairn and the ongoing Place Shaping consultation process.
Place Shaping: developing a ten year plan in Glencairn
Building on the engagement of the Revitalise project with the Glencairn Community project members and residents, Place Shaping is the next phase in Glencairn. Through BUILD’s raising awareness of the derelict sites in Glencairn, the lack of infrastructure across the estates, and the need for physical investment with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; the Place Shaping process to develop a Ten Year Plan, funded by NIHE, started in November specifically focusing on the Glencairn estate.
The Place Shaping process is being delivered by Community Places, who have been holding events open to residents, and a series of stakeholder events with young people living in Glencairn, Harmony Primary School, statutory and public organisations, political representatives, and other decision-makers. The consultants have been using the Place Standard tool to seek feedback on fourteen different themes. Findings to date are shown in the Place Standard wheel below:
Consultation with all the different stakeholders has led to a vision for Glencairn:
“Glencairn will be a welcoming and involved place, with access to community facilities, quality services, homes and green open spaces, where people will have a continued strong sense of pride and hope for the future.”
The Ten Year Plan will be launched at the end of April.
The Greater Shankill Plan to Grow - Craft Kit
This on going work of BUILD also recently secured a Department for Communities endorsed (Craftkit) framework that will develop an action plan for physical regeneration across all areas including
Lower Shankill/Lower Oldpark
Mid Shankill
Woodvale
Glencairn
Ballygomartin
Highfield/Springmartin
The Craft Kit process is steered by the Local Action Group, comprising community and statutory representatives, most of whom have been actively engaged with BUILD for the past three years. The Local Action Group members are working closely with Carlin Planning, who are leading the Shankill Framework process. Billy Drummond from Alternatives emphasizes the progress: "The work that has been put into BUILD is starting to pay off. To continue to gain momentum and be able to lobby for real change, we want as many people as possible to get involved in planning the physical regeneration of the Greater Shankill."
We started holding community meetings in February to hear what residents think, and met with residents through holding public meetings in several areas:
Lower Shankill
Mid Shankill
Woodvale
Highfield/Springmartin
Residents have shared many helpful ideas during these meetings. For example, at the Woodvale meeting, one resident talked about dark, littered alleyways: "I use the alley behind my house, but at night it's pitch black with no lighting and people dump things there. I've seen other areas fix up their alleys with benches and flowers. Something like that in Woodvale would stop the dumping and make the space look better."
In Mid-Shankill, residents discussed shopping options. One person noted: "The Shankill Road only has hair salons, food shops, and tanning places. People say they prefer local shops for groceries, but many now use Lidl and Tesco." Another resident mentioned the poor state of the Leisure Centre, joking that "it's so run down - we should rename it Cultra, it's like a museum."
Many residents expressed pride in being from the Shankill, but felt we need to "raise people's hopes and aspirations so every young person would want to stay in the area" and "bring back the community spirit that was once here."
We've also run workshops with young people at Impact Training and R-City, and with Shankill Women's Centre. Young people were glad to share their views. They suggested organizing bus tours to see how other areas have improved their neighbourhoods. As one young person said, "You don't have a choice until you know what the choices are." They supported fixing up existing houses and building new ones on empty lots, while emphasizing that "it would be a bad idea to touch all the open green spaces, because one of the strengths in the Shankill is the green spaces."
Upcoming meetings – to which everyone is welcome:
Glencairn: St. Andrew’s Hall - March 12th at 6pm
Ballygomartin: Presbyterian Church - March 20th at 6:30pm
Business owners' drop-in: Argyle Business Centre, March 27th 4:30 to 7pm
In addition to the Craft Kit events, the Greater Shankill Plan to Grow process has drafted a Survey, providing another opportunity for people to have their say and let their thoughts on how we can regenerate the Greater Shankill be heard. You can share your views through our survey - using the QR code and survey link.
Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqHirUn6OlLZRb7j4oujCBnfsPUNNGUg8sCAfzp2Upp83lpw/viewform
Survey QR Code included in the image below:
