Sailortown in the context of wider City development.
Maritime Heritage
Many ex residents of Sailortown were seamen coming home only on leave. This is the docks area and most families had a seafaring tradition going back generations. Belfast focuses on its docks and shipyards and forgets this history. Some men spent their whole working lives away and others settled back into family life after a number of years at sea. We are aware of a number of these through our ex residents and they are keen to meet up on a regular basis to reminisce and have their memories passed on to their families and friends.
When St. Joseph’s is opened for activities we will arrange ‘get togethers’ for ex seamen and their families. We are already having an exhibition with 60 names of Sailortown WW1 Sailors. This is from a database and includes photos, addresses and next of kin.
We want to give their descendants the opportunity to share their stories and look into their family trees as well as celebrate and commemorate lives at sea.
Belfast Urban Regeneration
Belfast has experienced a huge growth in Regeneration over the last 20 years. Belfast’s ‘Temple Bar’ aka the Cathedral Quarter attracts tourists, socialisers and has a range of Cultural and Arts events.
There are huge building projects happening around Sailortown the largest of which is the York Street Interchange proposal, an outdated and outmoded project. The M2 was the cause of the destruction of the Sailortown Community when their homes were vested in the early 1970’s.
The York St Interchange Placemaking review offers an opportunity to redress this wrong and link Sailortown back into the surrounding City.
The New University of Ulster Campus
The New University of Ulster Campus is on our doorstep. It is bringing 15,000 students into the North end of the City Centre with associated business and leisure outlets. We have worked with a wide range of UU and QUB departments enabling Students to gain practical experience. In particular with UU Architecture on Urban Greenways QUB Arch on Street spaces, QUB Community Development on Urban Planning and are currently working on Environmental Sustainability with both Universities.
City Quays
City Quays is a mixed-use regeneration project, providing a mix of commercial offices, retail restaurants, apartments and an AC Marriott Hotel on the Sailortown side of the Lagan Waterfront. It is being developed by the Harbour Commissioners who were set up in 1847 to develop and improve Belfast Port. Belfast Port covers 400 years of mercantile industry and shipbuilding in which the Sailortown community played a central role. The Harbour is one of our key stakeholders; are building 69 new housing units in Sailortown later this year and recently opened a new community garden as part of their Greening strategy.
Belfast Maritime Trust: https://www.maritimebelfast.com/
Formerly the Titanic Foundation, MBT led on the development and extension of the Titanic Museum and Hotel. We are working in partnership with them to ensure that Sailortown is centrally included in the Waterfront Destination plans. We have collaborated with them on a number of projects including design of the Waterfront Promenade Framework, Copenhagen Study Visit, Blueway Accreditation Feasibility Study and more recently represent North Belfast Inner City Communities on the Waterfront Task Group.
MBT also sponsor us for a range of Arts Culture and Heritage events/Activities: The Belfast Maritime Festival, our local Annual Festival in June, Sundays on the Maritime Mile and the Hub-In Project: https://hubin-project.eu/belfasts-hub-in-where-culture-meets-commerce/