'Expo West' comes alive: Ritchie

Social Development Minister, Margaret Ritchie today announced a process towards having an international design competition to bring to life the 'Expo West' concept.

Before the competition can be launched there will be community engagement including a series of workshops. The imaginative proposal for the Expo centre, at the former site of the Andersonstown Police station, comes from a feasibility study into the potential for economic development of the area known as the Andersonstown Gateway.

Margaret Ritchie said: “West Belfast is full of potential. I believe that with its distinctive culture and history, its people and its assets, it has the resources needed to bring about a dramatic regeneration.

“It needs to showcase its potential to the wider city, to the island as a whole and further afield. I want a building that will fulfil that role and be a physical symbol of west Belfast’s self confidence.

“A design competition is a great way of encouraging the sort of innovation and excellence in planning and design that I want to see on this site and in wider west Belfast.”

The Minister has asked PLACE, the Architecture and Built Environment Centre for Northern Ireland, to become involved in the design competition in an advisory role. It will facilitate community consultation on the design brief.

Michael Hegarty, Director of PLACE, commented: “Design competitions for internationally prominent sites such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Marketplace Theatre, Armagh, have generally resulted in high quality buildings that will stand the test of time. If the EXPO is to be the flagship project for west Belfast, then the international interest generated out of a design competition will help deliver a top quality outcome.

"PLACE supports the engagement of all stakeholders in the preparation and delivery of high quality buildings, and it is great that this type of process is envisaged by the Department for Social Development for EXPO West.”

The Feasibility Study for the Andersonstown Gateway area suggested that the Department for Social Development take forward the regeneration of the area with short, medium and longer-term actions. Already, the Department has started to look at how to make immediate improvements to the physical environment, including by tree planting and public realm works.

The Minister has also asked her Executive colleagues to nominate officials to a cross-departmental master-planning group that will look at the area bounded by Kennedy Way, the M1 and the Falls Road.

The first stage in the process was to define the requirements for the new building, which may have a mix of community and public sector uses.

Encouraging local community involvement, Margaret Ritchie continued: “This building will be a landmark and a resource for the people of west Belfast. The design competition needs to produce something that they will use and be proud of. Their involvement in its delivery is paramount.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Andersonstown gateway Feasibility Study is available at http://www.westbelfast-partnership.com/AtownGwayFSReportforWeb.pdf.
2. PLACE is a joint project between the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) and Belfast City Council (BCC) which opened in September 2004. It aims to promote understanding, debate and awareness of landscape, townscape, architecture, urbanism, public realm, planning, infrastructure, participation and the broad range of built environment issues in Northern Ireland. Further information on PLACE is available at http://www.place.uk.net/.
3. Media enquiries to DSD Information Office on 028 9082 9078 or 07970 976894. Out of office hours please contact Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.