Connswater closure: Belfast Council to see if it can offer money or other help to shops and charities about to lose home

The centre, a mainstay of East Belfast for decades, went into receivership last week and is to close down on March 21. Its outdoor retail park is unaffected.

The 52-unit mall is currently half-empty, but many of the remaining tenants are small independent businesses or non-profit organisations – the latter group including several arts and mental health bodies, as well as a temporary home for the nearby Strand Cinema while its proper building is remodelled.

Belfast Council tonight (12th) heard that many of those stores and charities not only face a sudden dash to find new locations they can open, but will likely find themselves out of pocket due to the cost of moving and having to redirect their small teams to cancelling utility contracts with little notice.

A council committee has now decided to check if the local authority can offer financial or some other aid to those outlets, either through emergency grants or by adding them to a “vacant to vibrant” scheme aimed at getting derelict shop units back in action.

The idea is the brainchild of area Alliance councillor Fiona McAteer, who is also Belfast’s current High Sheriff. She said news of Connswater’s closure has come a blow to business owners and staff in the main mall, as well as a shock to local residents who cherish memories of its heyday.

"Yesterday, I met with representatives from Men’s Shed, Arts Care, Platform Arts, Home-Start, Open Arts, Strand Cinema and Fighting Words to hear how this closure will impact their organisations,” she said. “For them, this isn’t just about the loss of a space.

"It’s about community and personal stories, it’s about displacement of service users; the young people, vulnerable people, and the elderly, those who come down for warmth and support.

"These charities spent tens of thousands of pounds doing up units in Connswater, none of which can be recouped; programming has been done for the next weeks and month, which now cannot go ahead.

“[The council] must do everything we can to help them mitigate such a disruption."

She suggested the council launch a “scoping exercise” to see if the affected shops and charities can take advantage of the “vacant to vibrant” scheme, potentially including local officials working with them to find new homes.

She also asked the council to look into what other emergency funding might be available or the possibility of providing legal advice on utility and insurance contracts, adding: "We have an opportunity here to help provide stability in such a tumultuous time, to keep these organisations open and providing vital services to the people of East Belfast and the wider city.”

The idea was backed by DUP councillor Ruth Brooks, who although stating it was clear Connswater “hasn’t been a viable entity for some time”, said there is a “real sense of loss of a community space”.

“If you were to open Connswater as a large community centre it would be completely filled and absolutely buzzing, because it has been such a hub for elderly people and people who otherwise would be socially isolated,” she said, “but unfortunately that doesn’t pay the electricity bill or the overheads.”