3. Background to Belfast Stories
Initial development
Engagement around the concept of Belfast Stories has been ongoing since 2014 when the need for a second major visitor attraction in the city was identified while Belfast City Council was developing its then tourism strategy. Subsequently, it was included in public consultations on the council’s Belfast Agenda, Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment, A City Imagining and Make Yourself at Home strategies.Footnote Three
In 2017 a conceptual framework was developed, including plans for co-locating a film centre, a landmark tourism attraction, digital skills programming, a cultural centre and leisure and public realm facilities.
Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD)
In 2021 in preparation for the Belfast Region City Deal bid, over 50 stakeholder organisations were engaged around the concept at over 160 meetings and presentations.
In December 2021 the Belfast Region City Deal was signed, providing £1 billion to Belfast City Council and its 11 partners, including investment in the £1 million destination hub now known as Belfast Stories.
Public consultation at RIBA 1
Between August and November 2022, Belfast City Council carried out the first public consultation on Belfast Stories. The purpose of the public consultation was to gather ideas and evidence to help shape the design brief with a specific focus on “making sure that Belfast Stories is for everyone. This means making sure that the building is welcoming and accessible and everyone can see themselves reflected in its stories.” To do this, feedback was sought in relation to:
- the outline Belfast Stories concept
- story collection principles and themes
- the draft engagement plan
- the draft EQIA
Current belfast stories concept
Designing Belfast Stories is an intricate and multi-layered process combining the design of both the structure (the architectural concept) and the exhibition experience (the curatorial concept). The concepts are intricately linked and as stated in current public consultation documents, are “wedded also to ongoing feedback we receive from the public”.
Initial architectural concept
The former Bank of Ireland art deco building at 92 Royal Avenue will be a focal point of the new building, which will cover over 5,000m2. Initial design concepts are included in public consultation documents. Detailed, practical design plans will be produced following the public consultation.
During the first public consultation, respondents were particularly interested in Belfast Stories’ proposed social spaces, potentially reflecting a deficit of free, safe, welcoming and attractive space in the city centre, particularly for younger and older people.
Initial concepts aim to present a building that is “welcoming and accessible” with four entrances that can be approached from different sides of the building. In the middle, there is a public space. Visitors can then follow a gentle sloping path to a rooftop where people can walk, relax, play and interact. These spaces will be free to enter.
Initial curatorial concept
The exhibition
There will be an exhibition of stories about Belfast that visitors will have to pay to experience.
There will also be an ongoing programme of story-themed events and activities in public parts of the building.
The stories will be told in many different ways, such as in print, audio, video, music and more.
At the time of the first public consultation, it was proposed that stories would be collected and exhibited around seven broad themes (such as Home, Resilient, Innovative and Place). However, consultees did not want their stories constrained by themes and were concerned about binary or partisan narratives or that their stories could be misinterpreted. Taking onboard this feedback, it is now proposed that stories will be arranged by “two simple, universal frames lets people draw their own conclusions about the city”:
- time – for example, stories about people getting up, going to work or going out
- place – for example, stories about Royal Avenue, the Belfast Hills, peace walls, pubs or kitchen tables
According to the interpretative masterplan, a document that details the thinking behind the concept, this “avoids pre-defining Belfast in terms of values or themes [and] Instead it creates neutral space for debate, dialogue, and difference [so that] Difference and diversity are never pre-packaged or essentialised. They just exist, like people on a busy street.”
Visitors can then choose how they make their way around the exhibition.
Story gathering
There will be an ongoing programme of story-gathering activities. This will take place both inside Belfast Stories and off site, helping to ensure that both stories and process are relevant and accessible to a wide range of people.
Stories will be collected in many different ways, such as in writing, film, verse, recording, song and more, allowing storytellers a choice of medium to suit their tastes, comfort and access requirements.
Approach to RIBA 2 public consultation and ongoing engagement
Consultation programme
During the current 13-week public consultation, Belfast Stories aims to:
- continue to promote the project, raise awareness and gain buy-in
- make sure that Belfast Stories is for everyone including equality impact assessment and rural needs impact assessment
- gain feedback on current design thinking and plans and for what we hear and learn to Inform the next phase of project
Key audiences identified are:
- Special interest groups: specific groups that have an interest in the progress of Belfast Stories, including:
- Local communities that live adjacent to the Belfast Stories site
- Priority groups as identified by the nine Section 75 equality dimensions
- Community stakeholders
- Strategic partners such as key stakeholders in the tourism industry
- User groups such as culture, arts, heritage and creative sectors and tourism and hospitality providers
- General public
Consultation activities will include:
- A consultation hub on Belfast City Council’s YourSay website
- A consultation guide available in a range of formats including easy read, HTML, Irish language, British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL)
- A short survey available online at the hub and in alternative formats
- An experts by experience equality consultative forum
- Focus groups, workshops and semi-structured interviews with equality stakeholders including, but not limited to:
- Older people
- Children and young people
- Carers
- Disabled people
- d/Deaf people
- Neurodivergent people
- People from minoritised ethnic community backgrounds
- People from the LGBTQ+ community
- Information sessions, events and focus groups with key strategic partners and interest groups including tourism, creative industries, arts, heritage, the voluntary and community sector, businesses and Irish language
- Facilitated workshops and events with local communities including businesses, university students, community groups and residents
- Story gathering pilot with local community groups
- Children and young person engagement plan
- Information sessions and workshops with area partnerships
- Pop-up consultation hubs at 2 Royal Avenue and St George’s Market
- A stories festival
- Briefings and workshops with elected representatives
- Briefings and workshops with Belfast City Council staff including Complex Lives Multidisciplinary Team, ABLE Forum, PROUD Network and Women’s Network
Experts by experience equality consultative forum
During the first public consultation, Belfast Stories engaged an equity steering group, which comprised 10 people who were experts by experience of being less heard or listened to due to their identity or circumstance including:
- People from different faith, political and cultural backgrounds
- People from minoritized ethnic communities
- Deaf/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people
- Older people
- Children and young people
- Women
- Carers and people with dependants
- LGBTQ+ people
In the second consultation period, this group has been reviewed and expanded to form an experts by experience equality consultative forum. The group will meet four times during the consultation to consider the architectural and curatorial concept and audience and visitor interpretation. There may also be special meetings on specific topics.
Reporting
Findings from all consultation activities will be reported back and shared with the architectural and curatorial design teams at fortnightly meetings. This will enable the design teams to consider feedback and review designs and concepts agilely.
Ongoing engagement
The draft Belfast Stories engagement plan sets out an initial approach to further engage local communities and artists in the development, creation and subsequent day-to-day life of Belfast Stories from RIBA stage 3 onwards.
It includes a range of engagement strategies and tactics to shape considerations around social, cultural and physical accessibility and inform the curatorial approach. These include engagement-led design, co-design/curation, co-creation, commissioning, pitching, mentoring and training.
In parallel, those engaged will also have the opportunity to share their own stories and to shape the way that these are represented at Belfast Stories.
Ongoing engagement will continue to be based on principles of:
- Respect: for the priorities, processes and time of people engaging with Belfast Stories
- Recognition: for different experiences, pasts and presents people bring to their engagement
- Reflection: making time for conversations as often as necessary.
Footnotes
Footnote 3: Variously referred to as a destination or creative hub
