Sinn Féin has warned that organisations impacted by the Connswater Shopping Centre closure should “not have expectations raised” regarding financial assistance from City Hall.
The remarks came as a Belfast City Council committee agreed to a “scoping exercise” to see how many Connswater Centre tenants, both charities and independent businesses, could be helped by City Hall.
The centre, a popular hub in East Belfast since 1983, went into receivership this month and will close on March 21. The outdoor retail park will remain open.
READ MORE: Belfast Council to survey 'long streets' with divided populations for Irish street signs
READ MORE: Belfast dog fouling removal vehicles to be reviewed as city sees poo "epidemic"
Alliance Titanic Councillor Fiona McAteer this week put forward a proposal to look into the eligibility of Connswater organisations for the council’s ‘Vacant to Vibrant’ scheme and how they could receive further economic support such as emergency unrestricted funding, legal advice and guidance towards suitable alternative accommodation.
Councillor McAteer said charities and independent businesses impacted by the closure of Connswater Shopping Centre should be “given all the help and resources to land on steady footing”. The ‘Vacant to Vibrant’ scheme aims to reduce vacancy, address dereliction and support local independent businesses by providing capital grants.
Councillor McAteer said: “Connswater Shopping Centre is at the heart of East Belfast, holding cherished memories for so many. News of its closure has come as such a blow to both local residents and those employed in the businesses affected.
“Yesterday, I met with representatives from Men’s Shed, Arts Care, Platform Arts, Home-Start, Open Arts, Strand Cinema and Fighting Words to hear how this closure will impact their organisations. For them, this isn’t just about the loss of a space. It’s about community and personal stories.
“It’s about displacement of service users; the young people, vulnerable people, and the elderly that rely on them. We must do everything we can to help them mitigate such a disruption.
“I hope everyone can get behind my proposal for a scoping exercise to see how many of these organisations could take advantage of the council’s ‘Vacant to Vibrant’ scheme, and for those that are eligible, that council works closely with them to find suitable alternative accommodation and look into what other emergency funding is available.
“We have an opportunity here to help provide stability in such a tumultuous time, to keep these organisations open and providing vital services to the people of East Belfast and the wider city, and we must take it.”
During the March meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee (March 12), councillors agreed for City Hall officials to make a report on potential help the council could offer, to be returned to the main channel for funding at City Hall, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.
However Sinn Féin urged caution on what finance and assistance the council could offer. Sinn Féin Black Mountain Councillor Ronan McLaughlin said: “It can’t be us alone on this, because when we meet the likes of the ( Stormont ) Department for Communities around the table, whether it is regarding redundancies or the future of the site and its regeneration, obviously we don’t have those powers here at the council.
“What would be good is to get all the players, including ourselves, DfC, and any other interested parties involved as well, because this needs to be a co-designed process moving forward. We need party group leaders to thrash this out, what kind of support we are actually talking about.
“It needs to be more than just financial (help). I don’t want to raise expectations on a huge wave of financial support coming from the council, when in reality that may not be the case.”
DUP Titanic Councillor Ruth Brooks said at the meeting: “It’s been quite clear that Connswater hasn’t been a viable entity for some time. When our Belfast DUP team met with management last Friday afternoon, just after the news broke, it was quite clear that the businesses had tried to do everything to attract new names but were unsuccessful.
“The large outdoor retail park has been quite successful, but we know indoor retail space has a larger overhead, and it was quite apparent that a number of other businesses, after Halifax’s removal, were indicating they would not be renewing their lease.
“We have a number of staff who will be transferring to other stores, we have some that will not be, and we are hopeful they will be able to get a new job at some stage.”
She added: “The real sense of loss in this is the community space. If you were to open Connswater as a large community centre, it would be completely filled and absolutely buzzing.
“It has been such a hub for elderly people, and for people who would be otherwise socially isolated. Unfortunately that doesn’t pay the electricity bills, and overheads.”
She added: “East Belfast is a great community, and it does look after itself. At the moment there are a number of conversations ongoing about council spaces, where people can move in.
“Some charities just need an office space, whereas others need footfall. I agree with this proposal, if there was something in place from this council, to bridge a gap between the urgency of having to leave in the next week or two, and (potential) other funding opportunities. Joining up and sharing space would be absolutely fantastic.”
SDLP Councillor for Lisnasharragh Séamas de Faoite said: “We should make sure we have a conversation very quickly about the future of the site, and what it means for the wider area of East Belfast.
“I am very keen to see us involved as a council quite heavily in that conversation. It is a five hectare site in the middle of East Belfast, that has a significant impact, not just on East Belfast, but for parts of South Belfast as well.
“I would be of the view that there is a conversation to be had about wider regeneration in the area, and about whether that is housing-led, which has been the priority that we as a council have set out for other forms of regeneration in urban areas.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
English (United States) ·