Irelandclick

By Damian McCarney
20 July 2007

Sinn Féin has slammed the Minister responsible for regenerating Belfast for not acting immediately to address the crumbling gateway to West Belfast.

Local MLA Paul Maskey recently asked Margaret Ritchie in the Assembly to consider commissioning a master plan to attract investment heavily into Castle Street, much of which has fallen into wreck and ruin after decades of government neglect.
In her written response, the Minister failed to commit to drawing up a master plan.
She proceeded to highlight a previous announcement of £5.6million investment into renewing the streetscape, as part of the overall £16million ‘Belfast: Streets Ahead’ project, saying, “This investment reflects the importance of Castle Street in bringing people into the city centre as a key arterial route.”

‘Diabolical’

Ms Ritchie continued, “My Department is considering what additional steps might be taken to maximise the ‘Belfast: Streets Ahead’ investment and I will announce our further plans for the area in the near future.”
However, this streetscape plan had been drawn up under direct rule and involves planting trees, installing seats and fixing footpaths, leaving the dilapidated buildings which line much of the street untouched.
“You can have all the nice footpaths and crazy paving that you want,” fumed Mr Maskey, “but you need nice buildings for people to look at too, otherwise there is no need for them to walk up the nice footpaths.
“Her response is diabolical.
“For far too long these business people have been waiting on a positive response [from successive direct rule ministers], and yet they have been told, ‘No we will look at it at a later date’.
“It is not good enough. We expect that of direct rule ministers, we don’t expect that from our own Assembly’s executive ministers.”

Bustling shopping area

Until the 1960s Castle Street and the surrounding thoroughfares were a thriving, bustling hive of commerce with retailers of all kinds vying for the custom of the countless shoppers coming into the area daily.
As the street suffered during the dark days of the conflict it became merely a street for the West Belfast community to pass through on their way to the shops in the more affluent areas such as Royal Avenue and Cornmarket.
Mr Maskey insists that a master plan is needed to regenerate the area and woo investors, to turn the clock back to the halcyon days of the 1950s and ’60s.
The neglect of Castle Street and surrounding streets has become even more glaring in recent years after ambitious plans have been instigated in the Victoria Square and Cathedral Quarter, and the Titanic Quarter looks set for major redevelopment.
“There is going to be billions of pounds put into other areas of this city yet she [Margaret Ritchie] is talking about £5.6million, which was already allocated under direct rule ministers, so she needs to come forward with new proposals and new ideas to tackle the problems that are there,” added the local MLA.

New life

Mr Maskey believes that breathing new life into the area is feasible as the proximity of the area to the heart of the city centre could potentially prove very lucrative for businesses and investors.
This was most recently highlighted by last week’s announcement that the hotelier giants, the Andras Group, plan to build a 123-bedroom, budget hotel at the junction with King Street.
“This has a BT1 post code,” enthused Mr Maskey. “If you look at the figures for people who go through the black taxi depot every single year from North and West Belfast, the potential for this part of the city is probably far better than in other parts of the city.
“That is why a master plan needs to be drawn up.
“If we can get a plan in which people can live in this area also, where there are businesses on the ground floor and residences above, this will bring the whole area to life.
“The potential for this particular area is immense but yet our current government seems to be ignoring the issue.
“The people who work there can’t afford to let this go on for much longer, it has already been allowed to go on for too long,” warned Mr Maskey.
Mr Maskey is seeking a meeting with the minister and some of the Castle Street businesses to highlight the problems.