There is a positive outlook in East Belfast as the new year begins despite the challenges presented by the cost of living crisis.
EastSide Partnership has said that 2023 will present fresh new opportunities for East Belfast as it looks to build on the hard work of it and its partners over the past 26 years.
Long-term projects such as the redevelopment of Templemore Baths will finally come to fruition, while it is also looking to launch further plans for the regeneration of the area and the expansion of its very popular greenway network.
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As the cost of living crisis continues to impact communities across the city, the partnership has also highlighted its ongoing work through its Scaffolding Project to help those who are struggling and in need of additional support.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Chief Executive Michele Bryans, said: "The past 26 years have seen a lot of successes in East Belfast through our partnership work and looking ahead to 2023 we can only see us building on that in order to deliver for our communities here.
"In the coming months we will see the reopening of Templemore Baths following its redevelopment by Belfast City Council and GLL, and we are very proud to be leading the heritage project within it that will tell the history of the building and area, along with the life stories of the people who have lived, worked and visited there.
"We are also keen to promote the often overlooked parts of East Belfast with plans to drive regeneration on the Newtownards Road and other parts of the inner city. The Newtownards Road has often been looked at as somewhere that people travel through, but with new businesses like Banana Block and Bullhouse East opening up and beginning to thrive, it is showing that it is a great location for visitors and a great place for people to invest.
"Ballyhackamore is now well recognised as a great destination for people and we are glad that other parts of East Belfast are now getting the recognition they deserve.
"We are also looking forward to unveiling our plans for a new shipping container hotel at C.S Lewis Square, which will be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, and will coincide with the expansion of our visitor centre, which will allow us an even greater cafe and restaurant space while also giving us more room to tell the story of East Belfast."
The Connswater Community Greenway has been one of the EastSide Partnership's standout projects in recent years and has created a network throughout the east of the city through the EastSide Greenways concept plan to traverse and enjoy, and this year will hopefully see it further expanded.
Michele continued: "Since it opened in 2017, the Connswater Community Greenway has been a hugely popular project that has opened up and connected East Belfast in ways that it had never been before and has become not just a great way for people to move about the city, but helps with their overall health and wellbeing.
"It has become an outdoor community centre for many people and communities and is seen as an exemplar project not just locally but across the region and on an international scale.
"This year we are hoping to see further expansions of our greenway networks, with plans for the Sydenham greenway that will connect East Belfast to Holywood. It is also welcoming news that DfI have commenced works on the pedestrian crossing at the top of the Cregagh Road which will provide a much safer route into the beautiful and natural gem of Cregagh Glen.
"We are also pleased to see work nearing completion on the Comber Greenway lights, which will make the route safer and more enjoyable for users, while also helping to address and reduce any anti-social behaviour concerns.
"We have also launched a youth development programme that will help to support, empower and build capacity of local young people, using the greenway as an opportunity to support their personal growth. It will further ensure that young people have ownership of our parks and open spaces in east Belfast.”
Each year the EastSide Partnership hosts a number of festivals in the area which are aimed at promoting local artists and businesses while giving local communities the opportunity to engage in creative activities which may not be possible otherwise.
Michele said: "Community events and festivals are an important part of what we do and our aim is to ensure that local people and families are able to get involved easily and help shape what they would like to see in their communities.
"Last summer our Arts Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary and we hope that it will continue to grow alongside our other popular events such as the C.S Lewis Festival."
While there will be a lot of positive opportunities around East Belfast over the course of 2023, there will also be a number of challenges facing communities, with the rising cost of living being at the forefront of this.
The EastSide Partnership's Scaffolding project was established in 2018 in order to help people with the impact of poverty and Michele believes that this will now be more important than ever.
She said: "The cost of living crisis is something that is at the forefront of everyone's mind and will create challenges for people throughout Belfast.
"Our Scaffolding Project, which has been set up to support people with the impacts of poverty, is already very active in our communities and will continue to help people through its work and interventions.
"We are also continuing to promote our real living wage campaign which encourages employers to pay their employees a fair and equitable wage in order to help break the cycle of poverty in the area. Research shows that the living wage not only puts more money in people’s pockets but it makes good business sense as it improves productivity and staff retention.”
Michele said that the EastSide Partnership would not be able to do the work that it does in the city without the support of its committed and supportive board, staff, volunteers and partner agencies and thanked them for their support moving into 2023.
She continued: "We are very lucky to work so closely with so many brilliant partner agencies such as The Executive Office, Department for Communities, Department for Education and Belfast City Council, who support us and enable us to do the work we have been doing..
"We are looking forward to this continuing in the New Year as we aim to deliver the best for the people of East Belfast."
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