28 November 2007 - Ritchie seeks views on the regeneration of Castle street

A consultant and stakeholder group have been appointed to develop a draft masterplan for the area. The Minister said:

“In August this year I commissioned a masterplanning exercise to move forward the regeneration of the South West Shopping Quarter in Belfast City Centre including the important Castle Street route. The consultants and stakeholder group have started work on this important initiative and a key part of the exercise will be to gather the views of local businesses and people who use the area. My Department will arrange consultation meetings for local people and traders early in the New Year. In addition ideas and views can be sent to the masterplanning team by e-mail or post.”

Drivers Jonas, a London-based private partnership of property consultants, has been appointed to lead a multi-disciplinary team to develop the masterplan. In tandem, a stakeholder group including representatives from DOE Planning Service and Environment & Heritage Service, DRD Roads Service, Belfast City Council, NI Tourist Board, PSNI, Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Belfast City Centre Management will provide advice and guidance to the consultancy team.

DSD is aiming to publish the draft masterplan for public consultation by March 2008.

Notes to Editors:

1.Views on the regeneration of the South West Quarter area should be sent to:

or sent by e-mail to: Business.SupportUnit@dsdni.gov.uk and marked for “the attention of the South West Quarter Masterplan Team”.

2.The area covered by the South West Quarter Regeneration Masterplan is shown in the following link which broadly follows the City Centre Retail Core set out in the Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan. The Masterplan will cover both sides of Castle Street and will take account of the Department’s regeneration approach for the adjacent streets set out in the North West Quarter Part One Masterplan. http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/bccrd-south-west-quarter-regeneration-map1.jpg

3.A consultancy team, led by Drivers Jonas, property retail specialists, will carry out the masterplanning exercise.

4.DSD is also developing a pilot regeneration scheme covering the Castle Street area based on the “restore dc” programme, which Ms Ritchie observed during her visit to Washington DC in June 07. The Northern Ireland version of the ‘restore dc’ initiative will be piloted in Castle Street and other selected urban centres across Northern Ireland. The programme aims to provide targeted technical and funding assistance to revitalise neighbourhood commercial districts and small businesses in targeted areas of need across Northern Ireland.

5.Implementation of the South West Quarter Masterplan and ‘restore’ pilot is subject to economic appraisal, funding availability and satisfying all necessary statutory requirements.

6.Media enquiries to DSD Press Office on 028 90829078. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.