Objective 5: Our city
Achievement of improvement objective
Improvement objective 5
Revitalise our city and help it to innovate in an inclusive and sustainable way.
Self-assessment
Achieved – we revitalised our city and helped to innovate it in an inclusive and sustainable way.
Aspect of improvement
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General duty and continuous improvement
Strategic effectiveness
Service quality and availability
Fairness
Sustainability
Efficiency
InnovationPerformance summary
17 Milestones
- 11 (65 per cent) milestones were achieved.
- 6 (35 per cent) milestones were partially achieved.
7 Performance indicators (target)
- 5 (71 per cent) were on target or exceeded target (within 1 per cent or better).
- 2 (29 per cent) were adrift of target (5 per cent or more).
7 Performance indicators (trend)
- 4 (57 per cent) performance indicators showed positive change.
- 1 (14 per cent) performance indicator showed no significant change.
- 2 (29 per cent) performance indicators showed a negative change.
Achievement of improvement objective 5 milestones
1. Encouraged digital innovation
City SME challenge programme
- Achieved - Agreed the contract with the Department for Economy worth £900,000 for the City SME challenge programme, which was delayed and impacted the roll out of Phase one and two.
- Achieved - Held a public launch of the programme.
- Achieved - Received initial expressions of interest from over 130 SMEs (to date) as part of phase one, closing date for applications is Q1 2024-25.
- Achieved - Phase two of the programme was initiated and will be completed in 2024-25. The programme will be included in the 2024-25 improvement plan.
Building citizen digital innovation capacity (CODI)
- Achieved - Developed partner agreement on the Weaver's Cross proposal with Translink, MRP and Ormeau Labs.
- Partially achieved - Produced a concept note with partners and submitted to Peace Plus for review, support in finding a lead partner and to develop a business case for funding. The review was positive and UU and Digital Health and Care NI as potential leads on two separate applications. UU has since withdrawn, and we are awaiting confirmation from DHCNI that they are progressing with an application.
- Separate, additional funding secured by Ormeau Labs from Peace Plus to deliver training for over 4,500 16 to 25-year-olds.
- Partially achieved - Establishing the core functions for phase one CODI delivery will be delayed to 2024-25.
Establish first Smart District innovation hub
- Achieved - Agreed the location to establish the first Smart District Innovation Hub at Weaver's Cross with partners.
- Partially achieved - Experienced delays in programme design, plan to finalise programme design in Q2 2024-25.
- Partially achieved - Delays in programme design had a knock-on impact on submitting the business case for funding – infrastructure and SME competition.
- Partially achieved - First SME challenge call competition delayed until 2024-25 as a result.
2. Revitalised and supported our city centre
- Achieved - Issued over 400 application packs for the Vacant to Vibrant scheme and approved 18 applications (1 subsequent withdrawal). The remaining 17 applicants represent a capital grant investment of £301,136.25 (with a number of additional applications ongoing) resulting in approximately 60 employment opportunities, and an estimated Rates Value of £743,369 (subject to LPS assessment) over the course of the lease periods. A further 14 applications are in development.
- Achieved total output of businesses and organisations through the scheme of £6,627,344.50 (based on sales for Year 1 and Year 2). This will be a significant boost for the local independent businesses, and organisations coming through the scheme, that are investing in the city centre. It also had a significant impact on the wider supply chain and city economy (with an estimated direct and indirect Impact of £9.7m). All this strengthens the attractiveness of Belfast as a place to invest, live and visit. Of the 17 applications that are approved, 75 per cent are for properties that are historic buildings or considered to be buildings of interest.
- Achieved - Submitted interim (year 1) review report to committee as planned.
3. Improved public spaces and greenways
- Achieved - Initiated the Cathedral Gardens project and the integrated design team have commissioned a number of surveys to progress the design.
- Achieved - Completed construction of Forth Meadow Community Greenway and signage works will be completed subject to council decision.
- Partially achieved - The Lagan Gateway project remains at development stage and outstanding issues have been resolved. The planning application is well developed, and submission is anticipated in 2024-25.
- Achieved - Progressed Belfast City Hall statues and stained-glass windows. The statues of Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney were unveiled on International Women’s Day 8 March 2024. The stained-glass windows project has been moved to Stage 2 delivery on the capital programme and concepts are being developed with completion anticipated in 2024-25.
Improvement objective 5 indicators and performance measures
| Performance indicators | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 Target | 2023-24 Actual | Trend | Commentary if target not met |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and companies directly engaged in the Smart District programme | New | New | 145 | 30 |
61 On target or exceeded target (within 1% or better) |
No significant change | Not applicable |
| The total number of previously vacant city centre properties that have been awarded the Vacant to Vibrant grant and will become occupied as a result of the intervention. | - | - | 5 | 16 |
17 On target or exceeded target (within 1% or better) |
Positive change | Not applicable |
| The total amount of funding (£) awarded to city centre traders to address vacancy. | - | - | £92,432.70 | £290,000* |
£301,136 On target or exceeded target (within 1% or better) |
Positive change | Not applicable |
| The total number of people engaged (traders, developers, business owners, landlords etc) in assisting with the completion of applications to the Vacant to Vibrant intervention. | - | - | 219 | 360 |
405 On target or exceeded target (within 1% or better) |
Positive change | Not applicable |
*Rationale for funding target = 10 awards@25k + 2 awards @ 15k + 4 awards @ 2.5k = 16 awards @ 290k
| Statutory performance indicators [Footnote 21] |
2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 Target | 2023-24 | Trend | Commentary if target not met |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average (weeks) processing time for major planning applications | 37 | 31 | 57.2 | 30 weeks (average processing time) |
64.4 weeks Adrift of target (5% or more) |
Negative change | Statutory, is included in 2024-25 Performance Improvement Plan. See collective commentary below. |
| Average (weeks) processing time for local planning applications | 14 | 17 | 19.8 | 15 weeks (average processing time) |
20.6 weeks Adrift of target (5% or more) |
Negative change | Statutory, is included in 2024-25 Performance Improvement Plan. See collective commentary below. |
| Percentage of enforcement cases processed within 39 weeks | 93.2 | 83% | 88.8% | 70% cases concluded within 39 weeks |
88.6% On target or exceeded target (within 1% or better) |
Positive change | See collective commentary below. |
Commentary if target not met
- Work is ongoing at a regional level to improve the NI planning system and to develop a new Regional Performance Framework. The council took a lead role in the Regional Planning Service Improvement Programme. The NI Audit Office and NI Assembly Public Accounts Committee are aware of the systemic issues with the operation of the NI planning system and the implementation of the new regional Planning Portal IT system.
- In addition, at a local level, a council Planning Service Improvement Plan to address planning performance is in place, being implemented and progress monitored through the Council Planning Committee. Completed actions to improve the council planning service include:
- Reorganisation of the team; and
- A pilot service redesign of the Planning Service.
- The enforcement service continues to exceed its statutory targets and incrementally recover performance that was impacted by the introduction of the new regional Planning Portal IT system in December 2022.
How we compared – performance benchmarking
The volume of planning applications processed by all councils in 2023-24 was the lowest since Local Government Reform in 2015-16 and from records began in 2002-03. Belfast processed 13.1 per cent (1,311) of all Northern Ireland planning applications in 2023-24 and 13.2 per cent (1,289) of all planning decisions across Northern Ireland. Our performance in relation to other councils is set out below.
| Council area | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 24.2 | 24.6 | 113.4 | 25.1 | 52.1 | 21.1 |
| Ards and North Down | 151.0 | 97.0 | 57.0 | 110.8 | 104.5 | 84.7 |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 23.6 | 45.2 | 54.4 | 31.6 | 47.0 | 27.6 |
| Belfast | 41.4 | 37.0 | 44.2 | 31.0 | 57.2 | 64.4 |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 49.6 | 74.5 | 86.2 | 54.6 | 46.4 | 54.2 |
| Derry City and Strabane | 154.2 | 96.0 | 65.2 | 51.6 | 78.0 | 68.6 |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 22.0 | 23.4 | 58.6 | 110.2 | 64.0 | 22.9 |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 78.0 | 55.2 | 79.7 | 106.8 | 87.2 | 56.4 |
| Mid and East Antrim | 43.2 | 42.4 | 39.2 | 34.7 | 47.6 | 67.4 |
| Mid Ulster | 64.7 | 73.2 | 74.1 | 88.0 | 68.1 | 64.0 |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 76.6 | 94.0 | 64.6 | 44.3 | 89.0 | 154.8 |
| Northern Ireland | 59.0 | 52.8 | 61.4 | 49.8 | 57.8 | 46.5 |
Our achievements include: Major planning applications are of economic, environmental, and social importance. Since 2017-18, Belfast has processed on average 30 major planning applications a year. We processed 30 applications during 2023-24 which was a slight increase on 25 in the preceding year. In 2023-24, the majority (8 out of 11) of councils did not meet 30-week target, including Belfast who ranked 7th out of 11 councils.
| Council area | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 24.2 | 24.6 | 113.4 | 25.1 | 13.4 | 13.0 |
| Ards and North Down | 151.0 | 97.0 | 57.0 | 110.8 | 19.9 | 16.0 |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 23.6 | 45.2 | 54.4 | 31.6 | 21.2 | 24.6 |
| Belfast | 41.4 | 37.0 | 44.2 | 31.0 | 19.8 | 20.6 |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 49.6 | 74.5 | 86.2 | 54.6 | 21.2 | 31.4 |
| Derry City and Strabane | 154.2 | 96.0 | 65.2 | 51.6 | 21.0 | 23.4 |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 22.0 | 23.4 | 58.6 | 110.2 | 13.0 | 13.2 |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 78.0 | 55.2 | 79.7 | 106.8 | 32.7 | 42.4 |
| Mid and East Antrim | 43.2 | 42.4 | 39.2 | 34.7 | 8.6 | 9.4 |
| Mid Ulster | 64.7 | 73.2 | 74.1 | 88.0 | 21.6 | 16.1 |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 76.6 | 94.0 | 64.6 | 44.3 | 21.6 | 33.7 |
| Northern Ireland | 59.0 | 52.8 | 61.4 | 49.8 | 19.0 | 20.8 |
Our achievements include: Local planning applications are normally residential and smaller commercial applications. In 2023-24, the majority (8 out of 11) of councils did not meet the 15-week target, including Belfast who ranked 6th out of 11 councils. Whilst processing times were slightly longer in Belfast during 2023-24 than 2022-23, we have improved in the sense that we have more than halved the average number of weeks it takes to process local planning applications since 2018-19, despite the ongoing issues with the Regional Planning IT systems outlined earlier.
| Council area | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 94.0% | 98.7% | 90.8% | 78.3% | 91.2% | 96.0% |
| Ards and North Down | 76.9% | 81.1% | 62.0% | 41.0% | 62.9% | 55.7% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 80.0% | 85.9% | 77.7% | 86.3% | 70.6% | 82.7% |
| Belfast | 86.8% | 93.2% | 66.2% | 83.0% | 88.8% | 88.6% |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 80.1% | 87.6% | 66.5% | 78.8% | 67.7% | 58.7% |
| Derry City and Strabane | 53.6% | 78.1% | 73.3% | 77.9% | 74.9% | 75.0% |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 84.9% | 81.1% | 56.6% | 60.6% | 74.1% | 79.6% |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 83.8% | 84.5% | 83.6% | 83.9% | 80.0% | 83.2% |
| Mid and East Antrim | 88.2% | 88.8% | 82.6% | 90.5% | 89.5% | 87.3% |
| Mid Ulster | 77.4% | 90.1% | 88.6% | 75.2% | 46.4% | 58.8% |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 52.9% | 36.2% | 40.9% | 48.5% | 58.6% | 60.0% |
| Northern Ireland | 81.0% | 81.4% | 69.9% | 70.4% | 74.2% | 76.4% |
Our achievements include: The number of enforcement cases opened and closed during 2023-24 across Northern Ireland was the lowest since 2015-16. The majority of councils met the 70 per cent target in 2023-24, with Belfast ranked 2nd out of 11 councils.
Additional evidence of performance improvement aligned to objective 5
Evidence that we revitalised our city in 2023-24 and helped it to innovate in an inclusive and sustainable way.
- The vacancy rate for the city centre (retail core) fell to 21 per cent during 2023 which was a decrease from 23 per cent in 2022 (Belfast City Centre Regeneration Tracker).
- The DfC reports that the trend in per cent of non-domestic vacant properties in Belfast City is declining as follows:
| October 2023 | October 2022 | October 2021 | October 2019 | October 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.7% | 33.7% | 35.2% | 34.1% | 34.5% |
Whilst council does not claim full attribution for the reduction in vacancy, our work (along with partners) has helped to deliver this positive outcome. Improvement demonstrated through the delivery of key programmes such as:
- Our Future City Centre Programme
- Belfast Regional City Deal (BRCD). Key achievements to date are summarised online.
- Belfast Stories – a report summarising progress – the Story so Far Report.
- Equality Action Plan 2020 – 2024, Disability Action Plan 2022 – 2025, Age Friendly Belfast Plan 2022 – 2026 and Good Relations Programme
- Publication of our Language Action Plan 2023-26
- Business as usual processes to ensure our programmes and policies are inclusive by fulfilling our obligations under the S75 NI act through equality screening.
Examples of activity that revitalised our city in 2023-24 and helped the city to innovate in an inclusive and sustainable way, including:
- Supported 15 pre and early-stage entrepreneurs experiencing additional barriers to enterprise through the Inclusive Enterprise Pathway programme.
- Developed the Belfast Business Promise accreditation scheme and piloted with 42 organisations in preparation for formal launch in 2024-25.
- Introduced the requirement, through our Social Value Procurement Policy, for our suppliers [Footnote 25] to pay the Real Living Wage to all of their employees and not use zero hours contracts for any of their employees.
- Developed a new toolkit in conjunction with Tourism NI, Visit Belfast, and the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance to help tourism and hospitality providers in the city become more inclusive and accessible to visitors with disabilities.
- Convened the "Building an inclusive labour market: opportunities, challenges, and solutions" conference in partnership with NICVA and the Belfast Labour Market Partnership, with funding from the Department for Communities.
- Ran the Grey to Green initiative, including grant awards to transform urban spaces.
- Delivered a diverse range of events at our warm, indoor public park venue, 2 Royal Avenue.
- Generated additional economic activity amounting to £30.8 million and created almost 6,000 paid employment opportunities through the 2023 editions of Belsonic Festival at Belfast’s Ormeau Park, and Emerge Music Festival at Boucher Road Playing Fields [Footnote 26]
- Developed 6 Asylum Support Programmes through the Home Office Full Dispersal Fund.
Next steps
As a result of extensive consultation and engagement ‘our place’ is a strategic theme of the refreshed Belfast Agenda and is a key priority in the 2024-28 Corporate Plan (currently in draft). This improvement objective will feature in the Performance Improvement Plan 2024-25 as:
- Our place – we will create a more vibrant, attractive, and connected city (including city centre).
Footnotes
[Footnote 21] Source DfI Planning Statistics, Planning activity statistics | Department for Infrastructure (infrastructure-ni.gov.uk)
[Footnote 22] Source DfI Planning Statistics, Planning activity statistics | Department for Infrastructure (infrastructure-ni.gov.uk), Table 3.2.6 - Major development applications processing times by council
[Footnote 23] Source DfI Planning Statistics, Planning activity statistics | Department for Infrastructure (infrastructure-ni.gov.uk), Table 4.2.6 - Local development applications processing times by council
[Footnote 24] Source DfI Planning Statistics, Planning activity statistics | Department for Infrastructure (infrastructure-ni.gov.uk), Table 6.2.5 - Enforcement cases conclusion times by planning authority
[Footnote 25] For all tenders over £30,000 - Social Value Procurement Policy (belfastcity.gov.uk)
[Footnote 26] Two of Belfast's biggest outdoor music events have generated over £30m for the NI economy (belfastcity.gov.uk)
