Opportunity wasted to regenerate North Belfast interface.Dunne’s Stores closes on Crumlin Road.

The failure of the Hillview retail park on the Crumlin Road in North Belfast is an example of how not to regenerate an interface. The site which has in the past five years only had one long term tenant, may well have, with the right consultation & vision become a vibrant and sustained example of real shared space.

How would you even begin to advertise for prospective tenants, spacious modern retail outlets, ample parking, ideally situated in prime high density residential area, complete with own interface gate and segregated community.

It should also be considered that there is not a reluctance to use the site, or to spend money here, ironically the car boot sale that runs in the car park every Sunday is jammed to capacity by people from both sides of the Crumlin Road and traders and shoppers from across Belfast and farther afield.

No strategy was considered or implemented to address the sectarian conflict which had created this interface and saw the permanent closure of Flax Street since the 1980’s, or to allay the fears of residents on both sides of the interface as to the potential impact of the effective reopening of the interface via a side door.

Local politicians, Nigel Dodds, MLA, MP and Investment minister, Alban Maginness, Councillor, MLA & Local Councillor Margaret McClenaghan have all collectively expressed dismay, Irish News may 9^th, at the failure of the retail park.

Perhaps now that the site has failed in its present incarnation, a consultation with residents on both sides of the Crumlin Road may provide an effective answer as to how best utilise the site as it stands.

The fact that we have heard a collective response from local political representatives toward the site may serve to solicit the right conditions to revision and reuse the site to meet the needs of the community. The recommendation before the Assembly on the 12^th of May for a North Belfast Task Force to address interface issues is a significant step and will hopefully bring us closer to resolving this issue.

An Roisin Dubh