East Belfast Sectoral Study - Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Community Infrastructure and Participation
There is extensive community infrastructure throughout the study area. The Housing
Executive participates fully in community development issues throughout the sector and
is represented on both the East Belfast and the two Neighbourhood Renewal
Partnerships. These partnerships have produced a number of strategies dealing with key
themes such as Health, Education, Employment and Regeneration.
The Housing Executive has established a Housing Community Network in both its
Belfast District 2 and Castlereagh offices which act as the focus for local consultation
on its policies, programmes and services. The Housing Executive also participates in
and offers practical support to a number of initiatives, for example, Ballybeen
Improvement Group, the Hanwood social economy project and the Inner East Forum.
East Belfast Partnership commissioned an Urban Regeneration Framework for the Inner
East Neighbourhood Renewal area. This has enabled the Neighbourhood Partnership to
develop an action plan. EBP has also commissioned a Strategic Regeneration
Framework for Greater East Belfast and work will be completed in early 2008.
Housing Policy and Finance
Fundamental reform of the domestic rating system is being introduced in April 2007.
The capital value of the property is now the sole determining factor on the liability of
individual householders. Most households in the study area will face higher bills as a
result of the new system. Furthermore the introduction of water charges, based on the
new rating system will add to the financial burden of many households, particularly
those who occupy houses in areas of high prices but who are on low incomes.
A Review of Affordable Housing, undertaken by the former Head of the Northern
Ireland Civil Service, Sir John Semple, was launched by the Department for Social
Development in the autumn of 2006. An interim report was produced in December and
a final report published in April 2007. The review was undertaken in light of the recent
unprecedented rise in house prices which have all but ruled first time buyers out of
many markets and a rapid rise in Social Housing Waiting Lists. The final report
contains a series of recommendations in relation to planning, publicly owned land and
housing finance which may improve the current situation. It is interesting to note that
one of the central recommendations in the interim report was that under the Review of
Public Administration (RPA), housing, planning and regeneration should all be under
the control of a single Department. The impact of the rapid growth in house prices is
discussed in detail in Sections 4 and 5.
Transport
The Department for Regional Development has produced the Belfast Metropolitan
Transport Plan (BMPT) which sets out transport proposals for the Belfast Metropolitan
for the period to 2015. An essential element of the Transport Plan is an efficient, safe,
and environmentally acceptable and sustainable transport system. The Plan outlines
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