Our Vision, Outcomes and Priorities
Consultation has concluded
Note: Phase 1 of the engagement to review the Belfast Agenda has now closed. You can read the captured feedback below.
Imagine yourself in 2035. What are your hopes for you and your family? What kind of Belfast do you want to live in?
These were the questions we asked you back in 2016, as part of the Belfast Conversation, our community engagement programme back when we were first developing the Belfast Agenda. We listened to what you wanted Belfast to be like in 2035 and, in the Belfast Agenda, set an ambitious long term vision and outcomes to make your hopes and dreams for Belfast real.
Four years on, we want to check that our long-term vision and outcomes are still relevant and meaningful. We also want to know what you think we should focus on over the shorter term. We'll listen to what people tell us and from there, we will develop action plans and a refreshed Belfast Agenda to ensure we can make a positive impact for us all.
Sign up using the 'Follow Project' link to the right to be kept updated on how you can get involved in these next stages.
Please read our existing vision, outcomes and priorities and tell us what you think by completing the below survey, registering to attend an interactive workshop (details to follow), post an idea or comment or join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #BelfastConversation.
Our vision for Belfast in 2035
Belfast will be a city re-imagined and resurgent. A great place to live and work for everyone.
Beautiful, well connected and culturally vibrant, it will be a sustainable city shared and loved by all its citizens, free from the legacy of conflict. A compassionate city offering opportunities for everyone. A confident and successful city energising a dynamic and prosperous city region. A magnet for talent and business and admired around the world. A city people dream to visit.
Our outcomes - the five things people want by 2035
Outcomes describe what we want for our city and local people - the conditions and wellbeing that we all want to enjoy. The Belfast Community Planning Partnership agreed 5 outcomes, based on what people told us in 2016 and include:
- Everyone in Belfast benefits from a thriving and prosperous economy
- Belfast is a welcoming, safe, fair and inclusive city for all
- Everyone in Belfast fulfils their potential
- Everyone in Belfast experiences good health and wellbeing
- Belfast is a vibrant, attractive, connected and environmentally sustainable city
Our priorities for the next 4 years
Our priorities are derived from our vision and outcomes and include broad themes that we believe we need to focus on over the period 2022-26. These include:
- Economic Recovery - mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the city's economy.
- Employability and Skills - ensuring people are job-ready and can up-skill to progress.
- Educational Attainment - improving education outcomes while addressing underachievement.
- Housing - affordable and safe housing to meet the needs of all communities.
- Community Recovery and Neighbourhood Regeneration - delivery of area based interventions that meet the needs of our communities
- Health Inequalities - enhancing the physical and mental health of residents especially those who suffer from poorer health
- Climate, Resilience and Sustainability - protecting and enhancing our environment while supporting the transition to a carbon neutral economy.
- Active and Sustainable Travel - support for sustainable modes of transport to improve the city's connectivity.
We want to hear what is important to you and what are the key issues or specific priorities (under each theme) that should be addressed over the next 4 years.
I can't understand why we have not introduced the workings of the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015?
It stated that Donegal Place and Royal Avenue were to be totally pedestrianised with traffic banned from those areas, why has that not happened (this is 2021/22)! Also the bus station as I call it at the side of the City Hall polluting the atmosphere still remains and we still play lip service to the green agenda which is shocking. We really need these areas urgently addressed if Belfast is to have any credibility when it comes to health inequalities and climate change! Finbarjohn.
Disabled children in Belfast are currently disadvantaged by lack of outdoor fixed inclusive play opportunities. This is detrimental to their health and well-being and that of their families. Inclusive play is not the same as accessible play and incorrect labelling of sites causes disappointment and distress. There are two key publications due to be launched by end of 2021 on the topic of inclusive play: Playboard and Mae Murray Foundation will be publishing a study on research which has taken place in Northern Ireland. The UK Play Safety Forum and UK Childrens Play Policy Forum will also be launching a statement on inclusive play.
Any plans within the Belfast Agenda in respect of play parks development or refurbishment in the city of Belfast, and the exclusion disabled children are facing, should take account of this evidence once published.
Exclusion from taking part within society, particularly community events, impacts residents physical and mental well-being. The implementation of social inclusion policies which address disabled parking need, level access drop-off points, accessible routes from transport to the venue, and the need that many disabled people have to take a carer (as well as, not instead of) a friend to such events, could be introduced by Belfast City Council to negate this inequality and disadvantage. Lived-experience led inclusion charity, Mae Murray Foundation, would assist with this auditing process and policy implementation, free of charge. It would be very simple to put in place and would make a huge difference to residents and visitor to Belfast. Changes implemented to date have not been sufficient.