FAQs

Sections 69 and 70 of the Local Government Act 2014 set out the statutory requirements for the review of community plans which must be completed before the fourth anniversary of the date on which the Plan was published. This means that the first review of the Belfast Agenda is required by November 2021.  

In addition to the legislative requirement to review the community plan, there is a need to revise the areas the city will focus on in the short term to drive recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. As the true effects emerge, we need to ensure our city economy and communities are able to rebuild in the coming months and years. The Belfast Agenda was influenced by a set of shared values that have shaped its design. As part of its first formal review, we wish to reflect on lessons learned to date. We are therefore driven by values of innovation and a focus on outcomes for people and we will identify what we need to do differently to make the next 4 years a success. 

Finally, there is a growing literature providing recommendations to improve community planning including Dr Johann Gallagher’s SIB report, “Towards a Programme of Support for Community Planning in Northern Ireland” and Carnegie UK Trust’s recommendation (endorsed by committee in March 2021) following the “Embedding a Wellbeing Framework in Northern Ireland” project. The Review of the Belfast Agenda therefore presents an excellent opportunity to embed many of these recommendation into our community planning processes and practices to deliver the required change we want for Belfast.  

It is envisaged that lockdown measures will continue to be in place in the near future and therefore, the majority of engagement activities will at least initially take place virtually or online. The ‘Your Say Belfast’ engagement platform will provide a grouped space where all engagement activities will be located and critically where feedback on each stage will also be provided. However, if the situation improves, we will allow for face-to-face engagement later in the process. Offline engagement via postcard surveys will be distributed through our network of leisure centres, community centres and libraries. 

An initial engagement plan has been developed which includes 4 flagship, area-based workshops which will be planned and delivered with local stakeholders (during September). A further engagement event is being planned targeting communities of interest and ‘seldom-heard’ groups including young people, disability, gender, ethnic minorities/ newcomers, LGBT. Further communications activity is planned including email newsletters, an article in City Matters and a social media campaign. This activity will aim to refer users to the Your Say Belfast platform where we will be able to capture views for further analysis.

Community planning was a new duty introduced as part of Local Government reform, taking effect from April 2015.  It is a process by which the Council and a range of partners providing public services in the city (including health, libraries, education, policing, business and others) jointly plan for making long term improvements in economic, social and environmental wellbeing of everyone living, working and visiting the city.  The community planning process places emphasis on taking into account the views of the community, as well as evidence and data. As part of the process, the Council and its community planning partners must produce a community plan every 4 years, that sets out the long-term objectives for improving wellbeing, as well as actions that will be delivered during this period.