Retail Northern Ireland Conference - 17 September 2009

Good Afternoon First Minister, Lord Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I'm very pleased to be here today in my role as Minister with responsibility for Urban Regeneration in Northern Ireland to take part in your conference about Retail-led Regeneration.  I wish to pay tribute to Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce for organizing the conference which reaches out across Northern Ireland to take stock of the future of the retail sector throughout the region.

The retail sector persevered through the worst of the Troubles surviving to provide a base on which we have been able to build over the past decade.  It is unfortunate that the sector has now been hit by the economic downturn and further significant growth from the peace dividend is awaiting the economic recovery which we all hope will arrive sooner rather than later.  

There have of course been glimmers of light in the midst of the recession with our border towns benefitting from increased cross-border trade as a result of the strong Euro.

My theme today is: ‘Retail-led Regeneration, the Future Landscape in Northern Ireland’.  In addressing this theme I wish to: review the progress that we have made over the past decade in renewing Northern Ireland’s urban centres; explain the role of my Department in promoting retail-led regeneration; mention proposals for new schemes that are in the pipeline; and, look forward to the future.

Over the past decade, until the credit crunch hit, we in Northern Ireland have utilised UK national economic policies combined with the benefits from the peace dividend to revitalise our urban centres through steady growth in the retail, office, leisure and residential sectors.  

These enabling factors have secured better outcomes for our economy, community and the environment and gave the private sector the confidence to invest.

Over the past decade the regeneration of Belfast has compared favourably with other big cities like Liverpool, Leeds, Dublin and Glasgow particularly as Belfast started from a much lower base due to under-investment during the Troubles.

The economic growth in Belfast and Northern Ireland’s other regional cities and towns have been partly caused by a retail renaissance.  Belfast has begun a remarkable transformation witnessing thousands of new jobs from growth in retail, leisure and tourism.

Securing the benefits from Victoria Square has been extremely important for the regeneration of the city centre.

We appreciate the significant progress made by Multi Development in getting the Scheme underway and for helping to boost confidence in the city centre.

At Laganside we completed a decade of regeneration on a massive scale.  This has renewed Belfast’s waterfront and delivered £827 million of private sector investment and 15,000 jobs.

If the past 10 years have been the story of Belfast’s waterfront, the next decade will see the continuing renewal of the city centre and the regeneration of Titanic Quarter.  We have published regeneration masterplans for the area around Castlecourt, the proposed Royal Exchange scheme and for the Northside of the city centre.  Next week I will publish the final adopted masterplan for the Westside of the city centre which takes in the Greater Castle Street area.  These masterplans plans provide a robust set of development principles indicating the sort of development, including retail, which my Department will support.

By developing the land covered by the masterplans we have the potential to deliver new jobs; new department stores; and, expanded retail opportunities for local traders as well as international brands new to the City.  However, this is dependent on confidence returning to the retail and investment markets.

My Department is working hard to finalise the Development Agreement for Royal Exchange which will set out the contractual relationship between the Department and the developer to take this project forward.  I hope to be in a position very soon to announce the next steps for the project.

Renewal of the city centre will take place alongside investment in the Titanic Quarter site.  This is expected to be around £1 billion, with potential for some 20,000 jobs.  The scale of the opportunity for employment and housing, investment and regeneration on this site is enormous.  

The 75 hectare waterfront location close to a city centre is unparalleled in Western Europe.

We are also aiming to achieve ‘world class’ standards in urban design, maintenance and management of the streets and public spaces at the heart of Belfast.  I have committed £28 million investment in phase one of a public realm improvement programme, ‘Belfast: Streets Ahead’, to enhance the attractiveness of the city centre’s main shopping streets.  I am grateful to traders and the general public for bearing with us as we implement this major infrastructure project which has led to some disruption.  Phase One will be completed by 2011 with the majority of the streets returning to normal over the next 12 months.  The result will be a high quality streetscape which will encourage higher levels of shoppers and visitors to the city centre, which in turn will attract investors.

The benefits of a renewed Belfast City Centre have delivered tangible outcomes for the City.  Nowhere is this clearer than in the massive growth in the tourism sector.  In 2008 the overall number of visitors coming into the city reached an all time high at 7.1 million, bringing an estimated £437 million of tourism revenue into the local economy an increase of 39% on the previous year and supporting 2,000 jobs.  The number of visitors staying overnight in Belfast rose by 21 per cent from 2007 and the number of out of state overnight visitors increased by 41% per cent to 2.2 million in 2008 when compared to 2007.

The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge event in Belfast City Centre attracted an estimated 800,000 visitors to the Port of Belfast over 4 days.  This is equivalent to half the population of Northern Ireland.

Belfast welcomed 39 cruise ships from 18 different countries in 2008.  This amounted to 65,000 passengers and crew and generated approximately £15 million.  

For our visitors, Belfast is often the gateway to the rest of the region and we need it to be a showcase. However, Northern Ireland’s regeneration doesn’t begin and end in Belfast.  The region as a whole has seen the importance of retail in playing a major part in reinvigorating our city and town centres.

So let me turn now to Northern Ireland’s second city Derry.  As the largest urban centre outside Belfast, Derry is a major employment location and a regional centre for administration and public services, transportation, tourism, retail and commerce.

Those of you who have visited Derry recently will be aware of the exciting transformation that is currently underway in the heart of the city.  We have already completed the upgrading of Newmarket Street linking the two established retail centres at Foyleside and the Richmond Centre.  

We also linked this work to the redevelopment of the former Rialto site as a new retail centre thus significantly improving that area of the city centre for both shoppers and retailers.

Building on this ,the work now underway in the Guildhall Square/Waterloo Place area of the city centre is not only the largest investment ever made in the enhancement of public spaces in Derry but also the most ambitious.

On completion in May 2010 quality will be the hallmark of a transformed, vibrant urban landscape incorporating well designed streets and public spaces able to accommodate a range of cultural, entertainment and of course retail activity.

But there is still more to do before Derry realises its full potential.  My Department is helping to create the conditions for this through clear development strategies working in partnership with Ilex, Derry City Council and public, private and community stakeholders.

The opportunities to broaden the appeal of the city specifically as a retail destination and build on the existing retail offer are greater now than they have been for many years.

Fort George and Ebrington, 2 former military bases comprising some 40 acres and located on the riverfront within the central area of the city, are now available for redevelopment.  The outstanding development potential of these sites provide an unprecedented opportunity to boost the local economy.

Outside of Belfast and Derry there are 40 smaller cities and towns ranging in size from 5,000 to 70,000 residents.  These urban centres have also benefitted from the growth in retail particularly in border areas in recent times.  We are steadily mapping out the future regeneration of for the smaller cities and towns by working with district councils and other stakeholders to produce masterplans which identify development potential.

It is not surprising that there are major retail developments in the pipeline bringing together national and international multiples together with local independents to boost Northern Ireland’s unique shopping experience.

My Department is working with developers in Belfast, Derry, Bangor and Coleraine who have proposals at various stages of development to bring forward once the retail market is on the upturn and the private sector has confidence to invest on a large scale.

I also wish to bring to your attention the important role that our city and town centres play in building a shared future in Northern Ireland.  Our city and town centres provide shared spaces where all sections of community come together to work, to shop and to enjoy leisure time.  The public, private and voluntary sectors must work together to strengthen the role played by urban centres in helping to heal the divisions in our society.  

This means that we have to create an environment where all of our people feel welcome and at ease sharing the benefits of a peaceful and prosperous society.

Finally, I wish to say a few words about the future…..

My Department’s statutory regeneration authority provides the legislative basis for comprehensive development schemes such as those involved in large scale retail-led regeneration.  These are exercised in the public interest by the Department to assist in the assembly and vesting of lands for the purpose of comprehensive development.  The Department in deciding whether to use its statutory powers has a range of policy tools which enable the Department to provide roadmaps and clear direction to investors as to the type of development which we will support.  

The tools include: the formulation of strategy; the preparation of regeneration masterplans; the preparation of development schemes; issuing of development briefs and design guidance; co-ordination of development partners; appraisal of development proposals; and, direct investment in public realm

My Department will continue to use all of the tools at its disposal to secure future retail growth in Northern Ireland when the market is ready to grow again, at a pace which the retail market can absorb and which secures the necessary statutory planning approvals. I have already referred to those retail-led regeneration projects and proposals which are in the pipeline.

What I can tell you about the future landscape for retail in Northern Ireland is that through the use of these policy tools my Department will work with the private sector to ensure that projects are in a state of readiness to move forward once the retail and investment market is ready.  

What I can’t tell you is when the market will be ready to grow again or the extent of growth in retail that will be achieved over the years ahead.  I sincerely trust that downturn has bottomed out and that we will not see any wide scale reduction in Northern Ireland’s retail base.  I acknowledge that that trading continues to be difficult for many retailers.  I sincerely hope that the sector will emerge from the recession ready for the upturn.  In the meantime my door remains open to consider any proposals which the sector wishes to put to me during these difficult times.  I am ready to listen and respond as best as I can within the powers and budget available to me.  Earlier this month I secure an additional £500,000 to continue the Living Over The Shops initiative which helps to deliver vibrancy in our urban centres.

Ladies and gentlemen to conclude I wish to emphasise my Department’s commitment to retail-led regeneration as a central plank of our urban regeneration policies.  

I acknowledge the importance of securing a strong and vibrant retail sector in Northern Ireland to provide jobs and consumer choice and vibrant urban centres.  Retail-led regeneration will have an important role to play in the future development of Belfast, Derry and other towns and cities throughout the province.