Struggling Sandy Row: Belfast Council bid to give businesses a rates cut as shops decimated by Boyne Bridge road closure

Trade has been decimated since a main road to and from the area was shut several months ago to facilitate work connected to the city’s new Grand Central Station.

Takings are down close to 40%, business owners have complained - and as the closure of the Boyne Bridge is set to last for much of the rest of this year, many outlets in the area fear they won’t see the end of 2025.

Now the DUP hopes to convince officials to take the edge off the situation by reducing rates bills for struggling small firms.

Politicians behind the bid say the council has the power to lower rates for a specific area in extraordinary circumstances, though rarely exercises it.

But as councillor Tracy Kelly puts it, the damage being done to Sandy Row is so extreme that the community won’t be recognisable unless businesses get some help.

"Sandy Row, an inner-city community with a proud history of retail, at present is like a ghost town due to the closure of the Boyne Bridge,” she told the News Letter.

“I am calling on the council to urgently look into a rates break for businesses in the area, as they continue to face the major impact of the development of Grand Central Station.

"Businesses have suffered a substantial loss in trade, with reports stating up to 40%; they fear they will not survive.

"To save the local business community in Sandy Row, it is imperative that the council and Stormont act now to support struggling traders.”

Last month, business owners in the area went to Belfast Council pleading for help.

They told City Hall that the effects of the bridge closure are worse than Covid, as shutting off the main access road has annihilated passing foot trade while causing hefty traffic tailbacks that prevent customers from getting to Sandy Row.

Everything from beauty salons to furniture stores have been battling a severe drop in takings, councillors were told.

The rates cut bid is set to be debated by the council at a committee meeting towards the end of this month.

It’s understood the process of setting up a reduction for a specific area is likely to be fairly complex, involving detailed discussions over how much rates could come down and for how long.

If councillors back the idea, it’s assumed that any cuts will be applied to Sandy Row’s rates bills for the coming financial year, which starts in April.

The bridge closure is set to last until this autumn, though many traders predict they won’t survive that long if the current situation continues unchecked.

This week, a Belfast councillor blamed traffic disruption from the work for one of the city’s worst Christmases for retail – not just in Sandy Row, but throughout it’s shopping heart.

Jim Rodgers told the News Letter that he “didn’t think there is any doubt” that gridlock in part sparked by the bridge closure was responsible for a 7.2% drop in footfall in Belfast city centre during December.