Minister welcomes regeneration plan for west Belfast

Finance Minister, Ian Pearson today welcomed proposals to regenerate the West Belfast and Greater Shankill areas.

The proposed regeneration plan and associated bid for support from the Integrated Development Fund (IDF) were made by the Joint Working Group (JWG) drawn from the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Taskforces, Belfast and Lisburn City Councils, Belfast and Lisburn Local Strategic Partnerships and relevant Government Departments.

The purpose of the strategy is to prioritise the needs of the area, link these priorities to the responsibilities of respective government departments, and maximise the potential benefits for people in the area.

Mr Pearson said: "One of the most impressive outcomes of the JWG’s work is that 75% of their proposals would mutually benefit people from both West Belfast and the Greater Shankill areas.

"Much time and effort has been required to bring this complex project to this stage. It is a significant example of what can be achieved by people working together in partnership.

"The next step will be a detailed assessment of the JWG proposals to determine which elements of their bid for IDF support should be taken forward as a priority."

The Minister said that he was aware that some further work was being developed in relation to the Ballysillan area, which was in the geographical area covered by the Taskforce, but was not sufficiently advanced to form part of the current JWG bid.

"In light of this, and rather than delay taking forward the excellent work which has already been done by the JWG, I have asked officials to discuss with local political and community representatives how best this aspect can be addressed," the Minister concluded.

The WBGSTF, comprising representatives from both communities, local and central government, statutory bodies and the private sector, were commissioned to identify practical actions which could be taken to improve employment prospects and reduce poverty in these areas, and subsequently produced a joint report containing over 150 recommendations in February 2002.

In March 2003, a new Integrated Development Fund (IDF) was announced to facilitate the production and implementation of agreed comprehensive plans to develop and rejuvenate selected pilot areas and communities in an integrated way.

The Joint Working Group was set up in July 2003 to carry out a comprehensive review of the WBGSTF report, produce an Integrated Development Strategy for the area, and prepare an application for IDF Funding.

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