HOUSING campaigners are urging Stormont ministers to engage with them over the vacant Mackie’s site in West Belfast.
The families, who are all part of the Take Back the City coalition, have ambitious plans for over 500 homes and thousands of square meters of business space on the Springfield Road land, which could play a significant role in reducing homelessness in the city.
Their plans represent the first time that a community has begun a planning process of this scale for a piece of land that they do not own in Ireland or the UK.
Over the course of the last year, Take Back the City has been consulting widely with local residents, groups, organisations and elected representatives and officials as part of a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) process for their masterplan, designed by Matthew Lloyd architects.
Since March, they have worked to inform people in the local area about the plans and the campaign to build homes on Mackie’s. Leaflets were distributed to around 2,800 households around the site, as well as 53 local organisations including the Shankill Women’s Centre, Clonard Youth Group, and Springboard.
During that time, 2,500 people visited the plans online at takebackthecity.ie and almost 800 people signed a petition in support of the Take Back the City Masterplan
On Wednesday, campaigners delivered a report to the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Economy Minister Conor Murphy with the results of the public consultation and petition on their masterplan for Mackie’s, the largest publicly owned, vacant site in the city.
Marissa McMahon, Assistant Director at PPR, which supports the Take Back the City coalition said: “We’ve been holding events, knocking on doors and hearing from people from all across Belfast and beyond. We’re delighted by the level of support the plans have attracted and we want to thank everyone who took part.
“Our families are delivering this information to the landowners at Mackie’s, most especially to the Minister for Communities and the Minister for Economy, who have refused to meet with or engage with them, despite these plans representing a win for both their departments.
"There are more than 86,000 people on the housing waiting list, and more than 5,000 children living in homeless households in Belfast alone.
"The area around the Mackie’s site is one of the areas of greatest housing need in the north, and those who own the land, such as the Department for Communities and Invest NI, are those who are themselves responsible for housing and economic development.
"The recent public consultation is not the first time Take Back the City has worked with the local community to gauge support for housing."
