Belfast City Council has laid out details of its Covid-19 recovery plans for the city, including specific investments in infrastructure and the implementation of the Belfast Region City Deal.
Most major cities around the world have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and Belfast is certainly not immune to its effects. A number of businesses have closed since the lockdown started, and youth unemployment numbers are now on the rise as job retention schemes begin to close.
Belfast City Council has now set out an extensive plan for supporting people and businesses as the city deals with and recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Named ‘Belfast: Our Recovery,’ the plan includes details on practical support that will be made available on a number of areas: Our city, our services, our communities, our environment and our digital innovation.
The plan includes significant investment in local infrastructure and public spaces, as well as projects to boost tourism, and implementation of the £850m Belfast Region City Deal.
A £3m Revitalisation Fund will be created to support the city's recovery planning and safe re-opening, and a programme of cultural and arts animation will be commissioned to run until January 2021. Around £25m will be used to redevelop Avoniel Leisure Centre and Templemore Baths, and £3.4m is earmarked for the Forth Meadow Community Greenway project.
A significant amount of effort will be spent adapting existing public services to make sure they are as safe an accessible as possible, and a significant programme of investment in tourism and infrastructure is planned that will attract additional footfall to the city.
The council will continue working to find further financial support for community and third-sector groups helping to address any of the social challenges due to the pandemic, and a new £8m neighbourhood regeneration fund will be set up to drive recovery in communities.
Councillor Christina Black, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee said: "We’re working to build business resilience, community capacity and digital innovation. We’re investing in jobs-led growth of our key sectors, concentrating on developing people’s skills, regenerating and animating our city centre and building connectivity between it and our arterial routes. And we’re harnessing the opportunity to accelerate our path to a zero carbon future."
Source: Written based on press release
