A comprehensive community-led regeneration plan for Belfast’s Greater Shankill area has been officially launched, marking the culmination of three years of grassroots campaigning to address widespread physical dereliction. The “Shankill: A Plan to Grow” initiative, unveiled on 20 February 2026, employs a novel workshop-based methodology to channel local knowledge into 64 concrete actions aimed at transforming the area’s vacant land and housing stock.
The plan represents the second major pilot of the Ministerial Advisory Group’s (MAG) “Living High Streets” approach in Northern Ireland, following a successful framework developed in Downpatrick in 2023. It brings together the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive under the leadership of the BUILD (Better Understanding in Local Development) community group, which has identified 82 vacant and derelict sites across the area—equivalent to 62 football pitches of underused land.
Community-Driven Methodology
The initiative utilises the MAG Living High Streets Craft Kit, a resource developed in March 2022 that guides communities through six themes and 21 questions to co-design their own regeneration framework. Unlike traditional top-down planning consultations, this approach positions local residents as the primary architects of change.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons welcomed the launch, emphasising the government’s shift toward participatory placemaking:
“I am pleased my department has supported the delivery of the Shankill: A Plan to Grow. This is a genuine community-led approach to placemaking, ensuring that local people are at the heart of shaping change in their area. With strong community leadership, committed partners, and a clear vision for the future, the Greater Shankill is well positioned to build a more sustainable, resilient and thriving community.”
The plan’s structure comprises five strategic objectives supported by 21 strategies and 64 specific actions. While the Department for Communities has not published the detailed contents of these actions, the framework emerges from extensive neighbourhood events held across six distinct areas including Woodvale, Lower Shankill, Mid Shankill, Highfield/Springmartin, Ballygomartin and Glencairn.
From Campaigning to Implementation
The Local Action Group leading delivery includes members of BUILD Shankill, a coalition that emerged from the Executive Office’s Communities in Transition programme. The group has spent three years mapping vacant land and lobbying for intervention, noting that over two-thirds of the 82 identified sites are in public ownership.
Billy Drummond, representing the Shankill Local Action Group, stressed that the document must now trigger tangible investment:
“The Shankill Plan Grow report is a key milestone for BUILD Shankill in lobbying for physical regeneration and investment in the Greater Shankill. Through the DfC CraftKit process we have consulted extensively across all our neighbourhoods to inform this community led Plan. The essential part of any plan is delivery, and we look forward to our continued work with statutory partners to address the challenges and seize the opportunities that this plan sets out.”
Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor Tracy Kelly endorsed the partnership model, stating:
“It’s wonderful to see the level of community leadership and the partnership approach demonstrated in Shankill: A Plan to Grow. As a council, we’re committed to making Belfast a great place to live and work for everyone. We’ve been supportive of the ambition and approach adopted to developing this cohesive, pragmatic plan, which will make an important contribution to improving residents’ quality of life.”
Grainia Long, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, added:
“This type of community development activity is inspiring and the level of collaboration taking place is an excellent model for future work. We wish the Shankill community every success on their journey and we will continue to use our expertise to help facilitate positive activity in the time ahead.”
Unanswered Questions and Implementation Risks
Despite the celebratory launch, significant gaps remain in the public disclosure of the plan’s operational details. The press release announces 64 actions but provides no specificity regarding which of the 82 vacant sites will be prioritised, nor does it attach a capital budget or delivery timeline to the framework. This omission is particularly notable given the area’s history of stalled developments—such as the Lower Oldpark housing scheme, approved in 2018 but delayed until 2023 due to planning and infrastructure complications.
While Minister Lyons’ recent budget allocations included £3 million for the Shankill Gateway public realm scheme, it remains unclear how this specific funding connects to the broader 64-action community plan, or whether additional resources will be ring-fenced to ensure the framework does not become another consultation exercise without construction.
The plan’s success will ultimately depend on converting the “co-designed” community vision into planning permissions and brick-and-mortar projects, particularly on the publicly owned parcels that represent the majority of derelict land.
Critical Questions for Stakeholders
- With 82 vacant and derelict sites identified in Greater Shankill, how will the 64 actions prioritise which sites to tackle first, and what funding mechanisms will secure their redevelopment?
- The plan follows three years of campaigning by BUILD Shankill without resources; what guarantees exist that this community-led framework will translate into concrete capital investment rather than further consultation?
- Given that the Housing Executive has committed to returning to house building after 25 years, will the Shankill plan accelerate social housing delivery specifically on the publicly owned vacant sites?
- How will the Local Action Group ensure continued participation from residents as the plan moves from design to implementation, avoiding the “consultation fatigue” common in long-term regeneration programmes?
- With the Shankill Gateway public realm scheme receiving £3m in recent budget allocations, how will physical infrastructure improvements connect with the broader community-led vision to avoid disjointed development?
The full “Shankill: A Plan to Grow” document is available via the BUILD Shankill website. Observers will now watch to see whether the statutory partners can match the community’s organisational momentum with planning approvals and construction contracts, particularly as the Housing Executive pursues its pilot programme of new-build social housing for the first time in a generation.