BELFAST City Council will face court proceedings over a decision to grant planning permission for a community greenway on the former Mackie's site.
At the High Court Mr Justice Humphries granted leave for a judicial review to challenge the decision, which campaigners say "sidelines housing rights". The woman taking the legal action is part of the 'Take Back the City' coalition and has been granted anonymity by the court.
The 25-acre Mackie's site is is owned by the Department for Communities (DfC) and is located in West Belfast, the area of highest social housing demand in the North of Ireland. In September 2021, Councillors from the DUP, Sinn Féin and the PUP voted to allow the use of the site as part of the £5.1million Forth Meadow Greenway, a 12 kilometre route connecting parks and open spaces from North and West Belfast.
Campaigners have called for a a change of plans by Council and an urgent intervention from Sinn Féin's Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey, to guarantee social housing at Mackie's.
Speaking after the hearing, the judicial review applicant said: “My family is just like thousands of other families in this city. We work hard, do our best and hope the politicians in charge do the same. But the decision made by Belfast City Council denied my rights and the rights of every other family in this city who need a home.”
Marissa McMahon is an organiser with Participation and the Practice of Rights, supporting homeless families to campaign for housing rights.
“Belfast City Council have made a decision to sideline housing rights at Mackie's but there are many thousands of families in housing need who just can’t accept that decision – not just those living in the packed homeless hostels around the Mackies site, but those struggling with mortgages, rent and the shocking rise in the cost of living," she said.
"With the help of the North and West Belfast community, we have raised over £9,000 to secure the services of legal and planning experts to develop an inclusive master plan for Mackie's. We can have the best of both worlds – top class sustainable housing and a greenway but time is running out for decisive action as Stormont collapses again. We don't need to wait for the outcome of a court case for the Minister to do the right thing.”
Mr Nicholas Quinn, solicitor for the applicant, said: “The decision of the High Court today to grant leave for a full Judicial Review against Belfast City Council represents an important milestone in the the legal process to attempt to overturn the grant of planning permission in respect of the Mackie's site.”
He emphasised “the well documented housing crisis in greater Belfast and, in that context, the significant decision to use public land for a park, rather than as a means to alleviate some of the chronic housing stress experienced in Belfast.”
