Belfast Council pushes for £250m from Westminster for a building splurge, arguing the city has a 'regeneration deficit' compared to major centres in Britain

In a report seen by the News Letter, city hall officials argue Belfast is being left behind in government funding compared to its counterparts across the water, and needs extra money.

The push is described as a “Barnett bypass”, meaning it wouldn’t affect the Barnett formula by which central government public money is allocated to Northern Ireland as a whole.

Officials say the move would see the construction of “housing-led, mixed-use regeneration” projects, including measures to address dereliction, and could get some stalled major schemes up and running again.

A spokesman for the city council said that Northern Ireland currently gets around half of the UK’s regional average spend on regeneration and local growth per population, while some British funding programmes meant to spur construction projects aren’t available in the province.

This, said the spokesman, has created a “regeneration deficit, with underinvestment and fragmented powers resulting in missed opportunities for economic growth, as well as positive social and environmental outcomes”.

Moves towards devolution within England, such as granting greater power to regional mayors, are also to bring an uptick in regeneration funding for major cities. That means more cash for the likes of Liverpool or Manchester, but Belfast isn’t included on the list.

City council officials hope their £250m push will close that gap, bringing comparative levels of funding to Northern Ireland’s capital city.

The bid was approved at a committee meeting last month. Commenting on it, the chair of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, DUP councillor Ian McLaughlin, said: “We know what Belfast needs. We’ve got the evidence base, the experience, and we’ve prepared the conditions for success, through a decade of community and stakeholder engagement developing and delivering the Belfast agenda and our city centre regeneration and investment strategy.

“Investing in Belfast through a transformative city-wide regeneration fund makes sound business sense. It’s money that will enhance the Belfast Region City Deal’s impact, and generate significant and long-lasting returns for Northern Ireland and the UK, because we’re uniquely positioned and ready for growth.”