BELFAST Chamber of Commerce has set out five priorities it wants to see implemented to help the city’s economy to recover from the effects of the pandemic and on to the road to recovery.
The key priorities are based around the broad themes of Supporting, Growing, Innovating, Reimagining and Investing.
Within the strategy is progressing the Freeport bid to realise Belfast's ambition to become an innovation city, and plans to grow the city’s population, invest heavily in essential infrastructure and make it a more ‘people centred city’.
The Chamber is also calling for the publication of a Belfast Infrastructure Plan which includes proposals for urgently investing in schemes such as the York Street Interchange, a 5G and full fibre broadband network, an expansion in public transport provision, and the upgrading of the city’s water and sewerage system
Taken together, the Chamber says it believes the interventions have the potential to kickstart Belfast’s economy put in place foundations to build a better future for everyone in the city.
Chamber president Michael Stewart, speaking at the organisation's annual meeting, where he was re-elected for a second term, said: “Businesses that have had to close their doors for most of the past 15 months are open again and the city is starting to come back to life.
“Many of our members are trading again, but the road ahead remains tough, and support and assistance is required to help put us back on to the path of growth and regeneration.
“Our AGM is an opportunity to look to the future with renewed hope and optimism, which is why we're setting out these five key priorities, drawn from our recent ‘Road to Business Recovery’ survey.”
The Chamber is urging the Executive to continue supporting businesses in the most hard-hit sectors through continued rates support including a fundamental review of the business rating system, ongoing grant assistance where and when required and the timely roll out of the High Street Stimulus Fund to help boost trade.
It is also encouraging the creation of a multi-agency task force to produce a strategy to dramatically increase Belfast’s city centre population over the next 10 years. This should include the development of housing investment funds similar to those deployed in places like Greater Manchester to help stimulate the residential property market.
It also wants major public realm schemes in the likes of Royal Avenue, Donegall Place and High Street, creating more open and green space for people to meet, making walking and cycling in the city easier and allowing hospitality businesses the opportunity to maximise their outdoor space.
