CLONARD Residents' Association has unveiled its own vision for the vacant Mackies site – including employment opportunities for young people.
The large swathe of land, which was once home to the old Mackies Foundary, is now owned by the Department for Communities.
Belfast City Council has plans to transform the area into a community greenway, incorporating the Innovation Factory and Springfield Dam.
Another plan by housing campaigners Take Back the City hopes to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing in West Belfast. Their plans includes provision for over 500 homes, as well as local businesses.
Seán Murray, Chair of Clonard Residents' Association, said they are in the process of developing their own plan, which would include employment opportunities for communities living beside the vacant site.
"Our association has a vision to create and develop a community in our area with all the requisite services, educational and employment opportunities, essential for the development of all age groups but especially our young people," Seán said.
"We have been at the forefront in dealing with, in conjunction with local residents, any concept plans in relation to housing developments in the area.
"In terms of the Mackies site, it is zoned for commercial and industrial use and Invest NI have failed miserably in their duty to bring employment opportunities to the area over the past 25 years.
"The concept plan for the overall area, agreed by all the main local groups was to establish a shared space along this interface on the Springfield Road, which has witnessed its share of contention and conflict over the past 50 years.
"This came in the aftermath of the so-called peace dividend, in the form of the establishment of a university in the area. However, it never materialised and the local community was left to deal with the ramifications of expectations being dashed and further marginalisation of this working class community.
"The shared space concept was to embrace the possibility of providing recreational, education, training and employment opportunities, open and available to residents from both traditions in this contested part of Belfast.
"Since then, the Belfast Met's Springvale campus has been established and Belfast City Council has renovated Springfield Dam and built the new greenway. The remaining aspect of the concept remains to be established – the provision of employment opportunities, especially for our young people.
"As an association working on behalf of local residents, we decided to take matters into our own hands and approach potential investors with a view to delivering meaningful employment opportunities to the area.
"We are currently engaging with two separate bodies with a view to fulfilling that potential. Once any planning application emanates from either source, we will launch the usual consultation process in the form of presentations and public meetings.
"Our association's vision is to create and develop a community with all the requisite accommodation, services, educational and employment opportunities, so essential for the development of all age groups, but especially our young people."
