Tribeca. It’s a name which is meant to evoke images of trendy New York neighbourhoods, buzzing with life, as people take in the local cafes, bars and historic buildings. No doubt some of that mystique led Castlebrooke Investments to name their ‘flagship’ urban regeneration of Belfast City Centre after its famous NYC cousin.

The plans, which aimed to invest £500m into 12 acres of derelict space, providing apartments, office blocks and retail spaces across North St, Rosemary St and Donegall Street should have already been delivered. Instead, the scheme is now added to the long list of epic failures and scandals which keep happening with impunity – this time, on Belfast City Council’s watch.

According to Castlebrooke’s promotional site, as part of the Tribeca promise, planning permission was granted in March 2017 for ‘the construction of 24 apartments and 33,000 sq ft of office space which has been launched as ‘SIXTYTHREE’ as well as ‘an international HQ office building of 150,000 sq ft with ground floor retail units alongside significant improvements to the public realm to provide a new street and church square.’ None have materialised.

Image caption: Save the Cathedral Quarter campaign opposed Belfast City Council’s and Castlebrooke’s Tribeca plans

Put into a wider context, Belfast City Council’s new development plan aims to provide more than 30,000 homes in the city centre for a new cohort of 66,000 bright young things – people on the housing waiting list are not the focus. But if it takes 7 years to not build 24 apartments, how many years does it take not to provide 30,000 homes? What faith can we have in the council to deliver based on previous form and partnerships like Tribeca? Yet recently, the Lord Mayor was pitching to companies like Castlebrooke to come and deliver.

There is an old saying, ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.’ But this logic doesn’t seem to inform councils current political and strategic thinking.

Not only has Tribeca failed to deliver any of its objectives but it has left the City Centre in ruins, destroyed a vibrant business and arts community and cost untold millions to the people of Belfast, where poverty levels and homelessness are sky-rocketing.

This month Belfast Council has made further announcements. They are frustrated with the lack of progress and considering ‘vesting’ – forcing the developers to sell them large amounts of the land ceded for Tribeca, pouring more public money into the void left behind by the failure of the private sector. Eight years has passed during which land and property could have been used to help the people of Belfast. Instead it has lain vacant and become derelict as the number of homeless families in Belfast has grown to over 12,000.

Not only has Tribeca failed to deliver any of its objectives but it has left the City Centre in ruins, destroyed a vibrant business and arts community and cost untold millions to the people of Belfast, where poverty levels and homelessness are sky-rocketing. This tragi-comedy is the status quo for a city with no future, unless political leaders step up to course correct. So far, no such leaders have emerged.

Read pt.2 here and show your support for the Take Back the City Mackie’s plan now.