How the project contributed to the revitalisation of the Maritime Mile
Over the last four years, Belfast’s HUB-IN team developed and implemented three actions to support the transformation of the Maritime Mile. These included developing a framework to explore opportunities to make Belfast’s Waterfront a people-centric waterfront, undertaking a sustainability audit to inform Green Destination accreditation and animating the area with creative industries and communities through a challenge fund.
Animating the Maritime Mile through a creative industries challenge fund
A challenge fund was launched for creative industries to bring their unique perspectives to preserve, enhance, and sustain the Maritime Mile through innovation. The fund created a platform for innovators to work with heritage and community sectors to develop new ways of encouraging the public to co-create digital innovative solutions and learn about maritime heritage and local stories. Six projects were supported, developing seven solutions that harnessed technologies such as VR, AR and AI to enrich the Maritime Mile.
Over 600 local people engaged in the co-creation, testing and showcasing of the solutions, resulting in an increase in the understanding of the potential of digital technologies to address local challenges, an increase in co-creation skills and provided the opportunity for local communities to work collaboratively in an innovation economy. It also led to an enhanced feeling of belonging, and a greater awareness local history and maritime heritage.
Local communities being so personally involved in the making of the experience truly felt like we are creating state of the art experience. If you were to talk to anyone who was at the launch, they would all say that they have never seen or tried any storytelling experience like that before. Naturally, such experience made people in Sailortown very proud of their community and projects that they do. We are now looking at the new ways to extend our collaborative workshops in the area beyond HUB-IN initiative. – Katya Solomatina
The success of the projects has led to the establishment the Maritime Mile Heritage Lab to ensure the heritage will continue to be supported through inclusive collaboration.
Waterfront Promenade Framework
The Belfast HUB contributed to the new vision for the future development of the Belfast Waterfront Promenade. The project contributed to a study undertaken of the waterfront to develop an agreed vision across stakeholders and a framework to influence the next 30 years of development. The Task Group that led on its development remains committed to its delivery with membership now extended to include community representation.
The Framework has been widely shared with stakeholders, developers and interested parties and is being successfully used in discussions with government departments whose work/policies impact the waterfront. For example, Belfast City Council is working towards establishing the Waterfront Promenade as a Local Policy Area so that its design guidelines are adopted by planning authorities. A pilot Waterfront Design Panel has also been created to peer review development proposals along the Promenade against guidelines and surrounding context.
Work has also commenced in relation to the 5 recommended catalytic projects. Belfast City Council is already exploring funding options for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge strategically linking Sailortown to Titanic Quarter. A new kiosk and planting have been delivered as part of the Gateway Project transforming a bleak tarmacked area into a vibrant destination and welcoming gateway to the rest of the waterfront. And plans are underway to commission a feasibility study to maximise the potential of Hickson’s Point, an area on the waterfront identified in the Framework as a great opportunity for national significance.
Ambition for Green Destination Accreditation
Through engagement with key stakeholders the Belfast HUB undertook a sustainability audit as a first step to the Maritime Mile achieving Green Destination Accreditation. This builds on the framework vision of exploring how the promenade will become a dynamic setting for creative and green enterprises and sparks a point of momentum for net-zero and blue economies to emerge. A sustainability working group will be established and the team are hosting a workshop in February 2025 to develop and implementation plan for Green Destination accreditation.
Fostering a renovated sense of belonging
Important lessons learned includes raising awareness of the projects at an early stage and building relationships with stakeholders and communities so that they understand the challenges the actions are addressing and successfully work together to build a project from collective ideas.
Another learning is that funding for challenge calls needs to be supported with other resources such as access to stakeholders, communication and relationship building, and access to venues to co-create, trial and test solutions.
Each action was developed, implemented, and achieved by working in partnership with existing stakeholders and developing new relationships and networks. Co-creation has been the cornerstone of the projects and having communities front and centre of projects has led to the success of animating the Maritime Mile.
Much of the learning from the project has now been adapted and incorporated into other Smart Belfast initiatives. The learning is also set to inform new thinking on inclusive innovation in Belfast, and also contribute to the application of digital technologies in tourism initiatives across the region.
Have a look at the Storytelling Booklets to get inspired by the stories of the other HUB-IN cities!
