BeLfAst MAnifestO

th

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Our visiOn fOr the future

BLUEPRINTCLEAR AND CONCISE

FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS

The heart of Northern Ireland

We should be justly proud of our transforming city, fromthe redeveloping waterfront to the regenerating cityquarters, with world leading businesses in the fields offilm, tech, finance, tourism, retail and many more.

But it can’t stop there. Recent years have seen growthstalling because of worldwide economic upheaval andcompetition from other destinations. Internet retailingpresents a challenge to the traditional city centre. Inrecent months Brexit has created new uncertainties andopportunities. Let’s look to the future and seize theopportunities that it presents.

We understand that the city is the pulse, the beatingheart of Northern Ireland. When Belfast is healthy then sotoo is the rest of the country.

This is our plan - the Belfast Manifesto: it is a clear andconcise blueprint for the next 10 years for NorthernIreland’s capital city.

BELFAST – THE HEART OF NORTHERN IRELAND

Belfast is a great city. The Belfast Chamber for Trade andCommerce celebrates Belfast’s success and looks forwardwith optimism to Belfast’s future.

Focussed on lobbying and support

400MORE THAN

CURRENT MEMBERS

BELFAST’S CHAMBER FOR BUSINESS

Belfast Chamber for Trade and Commerce is the voice ofbusiness in Belfast.

We have been representing businesses in the city since1912 and we have more than 400 members.

Our members include the full range of commercialenterprises, from retailers to hoteliers, solicitors to estateagents, property developers to media, tech companies totransport providers.

Businesses join Belfast Chamber because they recognisethat we are the only business organisation that is focussedon lobbying for and supporting all businesses within theentire city of Belfast. We put Belfast First.

We passionately believe that the voice of business inBelfast must be listened to by policy makers andpoliticians in order to build the strongest possibleframework for investment and business growth. We want those policymakers to put Belfast First.

Our membership is growing and our voice is being heard.

SUCCESSFULLYTHE CHAMBER LOBBIES

ON A RANGE OF ISSUES

Connecting Businesses

Belfast Chamber actively supports and represents thebusiness interests of our members in a number of ways.

LOBBYING GOvERNMENT AND POLICY MAkERS

Belfast Chamber is proud to hold an impressive trackrecord in lobbying on behalf of our members.

We work closely with politicians, governmentdepartments and other organisations interested in thefurther development of Belfast as a vibrant capital of aprosperous Northern Ireland. We facilitate regular, vitaland productive meetings with Ministers, MLAs andCouncillors.

The Chamber lobbies successfully on a diverse andimportant range of issues that affect a wide range ofbusiness people across the city.

Among our success stories we:• delivered the rates reduction of 50% for businesses

occupying units that have been vacant for over a year• influence the timing of parades through and events in

the City Centre to minimise the disruption to the business community

• successfully lobbied for the development of Victoria Square Shopping Centre

• work with DSD (now Department for Communities) to enhance the public realm in the City Centre, including the Streets Ahead project, Bank Square and College Square

• instigated the Backin’ Belfast campaign

Promoting the City Centre• We played a vital part in creating the thriving City

Centre that we now enjoy• We worked with Visit Belfast to secure £1m funding over

five years, to promote the city as a major retail and leisure destination. This funding has been used for Christmas campaigns and marketing initiatives throughout each year

• We were instrumental in setting up the Backin’ Belfast campaign. This was a crucial step at a difficult time, and our influence was brought to bear on the City Council, Government Departments and Agencies to generate funding for a unified campaign to attract visitors back into the city

SUPPORTING BUSINESS IN BELFAST

Making Belfast Great

UNIQUE NETWORkINGOUR MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO ENJOY

OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING OUR BI-MONTHLYOPEN HOUSE AND BUSINESS BREAkFAST EvENTS

• Belfast Chamber is responsible for securing funding for a dedicated full time police presence in the City Centre, which would otherwise not exist. This City Centre Beat scheme has been successful in eliminating illegal street trading and creating a safe and secure environment

• We also set up a radio-link scheme for retailers and bars to help them communicate with each other and control potential issues and threats

• We have been instrumental in the delivery and funding of the Christmas lights and decorations

• Belfast Chamber helped establish Belfast City Centre Management Ltd

Connecting Businesses in the City• We help to provide a fertile business environment. Our

members are able to enjoy unique networking opportunities including our Open House and Business Breakfast events, to develop and grow their businesses

• We are an integral partner in the strategic alliance of major stakeholders who work hard to help Belfast thrive and flourish. Our partners include the City Council, Government Departments, Belfast City Centre Management, Belfast One and Visit Belfast

• We hold training and information workshops for all members to help them learn and develop their skill sets

Celebrating Belfast BusinessWe believe business in Belfast is a great story that needsto be celebrated:• Our annual Belfast Business Awards is a showcase gala

event, highlighting the great strength and diversity of business in Belfast across all sectors

• We also celebrate success and achievement with our prestigious President’s Awards, which are awarded to individuals and organisations who make a significant contribution to the business scene in the city

SUPPORTING BUSINESS IN BELFAST

BeLfAst MAnifestO

Re-invent The City

Our policy and aim is to make Northern Ireland anexcellent place for business by ensuring that Belfastthrives. The success of Belfast is a pre-requisite for adynamic province and these policies are designed toensure the secure long-term growth of our city.

The Belfast Metropolitan Area has a population of580,000 out of Northern Ireland’s total population of1.811m. This centre of population is the gateway forbusiness and economic activity for the whole region.

The Brexit vote creates new challenges and opportunitiesfor Belfast as the capital of the region. Putting BelfastFirst, means getting the best for Northern Ireland, theonly UK region neighbouring the European Union.

1. A Self-Governing City Belfast City Council must be the dominant authority forBelfast.

The existing arrangement of several central governmentdepartments competing with local government should bereplaced by the Council as the sole cohesive body. Thiswill mean the City Council taking over economicdevelopment and regeneration powers as well as controlover roads to complement its planning powers.

Great Cities have strong democratic governance. Our great city deserves its own fully empowered and fullyaccountable City Council.

2.Access and InfrastructureBelfast needs a world-class sustainable transport system ifit is to achieve the growth that is planned in future years.

On a positive note we welcome:• the planned Rapid Transit System and look forward to it

becoming operational by September 2018• government support for the proposed Transport

Interchange at Great Victoria Street Rail/Bus Stations. This is a priority for the city and our Executive must deliver on its commitment as soon as possible

Building on these initiatives the City needs:• an hourly Enterprise service connecting Belfast to

Dublin at peak times• a proper and independent review of the bus lanes,

speed limits and car parking in the City Centre. People in cars should not be seen as the enemy, rather as potential clients, customers, investors and visitors.

THE MANIFESTO

Express our Culture

• Transport NI should:- standardise the times of bus lanes to weekday

and peak times only and permit use by taxis and cyclists- specify and advertise arterial routes that are free of

bus lanes- implement smart car park signage- develop, with City Council, a long term car

park strategy for the City which will encourage economically efficient use of on-street and other public parking

- enforce existing regulations to achieve a proper level of on-street car parking turnover

Increased air connectivity The chamber supports: • the expansion and development of Belfast

International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport

• more air transport slots for Belfast from London airports

• abolition of Air Passenger Duty on all flights into Northern Ireland from Great Britain and on all direct flights from Northern Ireland to any destination

Roads connectivity The chamber supports the development of the roadsinfrastructure throughout Northern Ireland to give betterconnection between the regions and the capital city andin particular full motorway connectivity to both Newryand Derry~Londonderry.

3. A Tech CityBelfast is emerging as a world-class destination for high-tech and media investment. We need to build upon thisbase and create the environment and culture to continuethis growth.

The Chamber celebrates the fact that Belfast has beenranked as the second fastest broadband city in the UK;but we are slower than Dublin and many other leadingEuropean cities. Investment is needed to give Belfast thefastest internet download speeds on the island of Ireland.This is an essential modern requirement for attractinginvestors who are willing to set up business and bringemployees to the City.

The City is facing a skills shortage. Chamber supportseducation tailored to the needs of our members. We willwork with schools, Belfast Met, Queen’s University, UlsterUniversity and the Department of Education to ensurethat courses meet the needs of employers.

THE MANIFESTO

Belfast needs to create a welcoming environment forforeign skilled workers. The City Centre needs to developits attractiveness as a place to live with residentialquarters that have facilities for young families such aspocket parks and daycare.

4. Fairer Rates and TaxesThe businesses in Belfast City Centre contribute 65% ofthe rates income of the entire City Council.The Chamber is entitled to expect a recognition from theCity Council of the fact that the business community isfundamental to meeting many of the Council’s otherpolicies and objectives.

High levels of rates deter investment in the City Centre and actually reduce Council income because of vacancies.

We will continue to resist rates on businesses becomingthe easy tax for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Properrates policy can be used to stimulate growth by:

• encouraging more residential accommodation in the City Centre

• incentivising occupation of vacant buildings• incentivising new development and capital investment

The proposed reduction in Corporation Tax remains anopportunity to attract business headquarters to Belfast.Following Brexit, the Northern Ireland Executive shouldbe working to secure the early introduction of theCorporation Tax change. Each new business setting uphome in Belfast will require top quality services, resources and support in our high quality and sustainable environment.

5. Reinvent the City CentreThe traditional retail core in the City Centre is changingdue to the combination of out-of-town and suburbanmalls and internet retailing. The Chamber challenges anyfactors which may negatively impact people accessingand moving around the city. The following policies aredesigned to work with our infrastructure changes to putBelfast at the forefront of 21st century cities.

RetailThe Chamber’s aim is to move Belfast from the 19th mostpopular retail destination in the United Kingdom into oneof the top ten positions. Our policies to achieve this are:• the Royal Exchange project must be prioritised and

Sprucefield Park should not be allowed to develop beyond bulky-goods retailing

THE MANIFESTO

• to encourage the growth of locally owned independent retailers throughout the city through rates incentives and local business assistance

• to extend Sunday trading hours in the city to allow earlier opening

• to fully pedestrianise Donegall Place but make other parts of the City Centre open to private cars. The pedestrianised area in the City Centre is too large for a city of the size of Belfast. This inhibits non-retail uses and is a cause of the lack of activity in the evening

Commerce and BusinessThe Chamber has a clear policy that Belfast’s maincommercial and business district should be in the centreof the city and not be allowed to move to the waterfront.The area south of City Hall should be the priority andpolicies such as the new transport hub in Great VictoriaStreet are essential to support this.

There is an urgent need to regenerate the south of theCity Centre, including Great Victoria Street, ShaftesburySquare, Bradbury Place and the surrounding streets.Priority should be given to investment for this area.

City LivingIt’s time to see more people living in the CityCentre again.

Policies, such as:• reduced car parking requirements for City

Centre housing• rates incentives for new residential development in

the City Centre• long term rates reliefs for City Centre upper

floor housingshould be introduced with a target of trebling thenumber of people living in the City Centre within 10years.

The City Council should abandon its policy of imposingdeveloper contributions by using s76 of the Planning Act(Northern Ireland) 2011 for residential planningpermissions within the City Centre.

THE MANIFESTO

Be Inspired

HospitalityThe international success of Belfast’s nightlife andhospitality sector will grow even further if our historiclicensing laws, which date from 1902, are properlymodernised. The Chamber supports the licensingindustry’s call for laws which reflect the changing needs of our society.

Public EventsThe use of the City Centre for public events should bemanaged to be fair to all users. Events should beorganised in a manner which is considerate to businessowners, customers and clients. Processions, protests andparades should be organised to be clear of the CityCentre and its main accesses by 12 noon on trading days.In particular we support moving the Belfast City Marathonto a Sunday.

Culture and SportBelfast deserves the ornamentation of more public art toexpress the character, identity and creativity of this greatcity. The Chamber supports the work of the City’s culturalorganisations in all that they do to in stimulating thecreativity that will make Belfast a city for the 21st century.

It is essential that any major new sporting stadium forNorthern Ireland is located in the City.

In the link between culture and commerce we wouldsupport a campaign for Belfast to achieve UNESCOWorld Heritage status for our shipbuilding history.

THE MANIFESTO

Put Belfast FirstWe want to see Northern Ireland flourish.

To make this happen our government must put Belfast at the heart of all policies for Northern Ireland. As the home of our legislature, gateway to the province and our largest population and business centre,Belfast can be Northern Ireland’s world class city with all of the benefits that brings for the region as a whole.

Policies for relocation of government departments away from Belfast should be reversed. Instead investment should be made in improving connections between our major cities and towns.

Belfast is the hub of Northern Ireland. Make Belfast great and the rest of the region will follow.

testiMOniALs

PARTNERSHIP “The PSNI have been pleased towork in partnership with BelfastChamber on a range of initiativesto tackle crime, reduce tensionand make the city a safer place foreveryone. We will continue towork together to ensure the safetyof the community that makes upour capital city.”

ROBERT MURDIE,CHIEF INSPECTOR, PSNI

LOBBYING“The well-established credibility ofBelfast Chamber gives us apowerful platform on which tolobby local and centralgovernment about what mattersto members. Thanks to the Chamber ourleaders will always know about theissues affecting the Businesspeople of Belfast.”

CHRISTOPHER MCCAUSLAND,vALUE CABS

LOBBYING“The efforts of Belfast Chambermean our business people areunited in the way they tackleproblems and build for the future.The Chamber has created a levelof co-ordination that is key todriving the city forward.”

LOBBYING“It is vital that Belfast City Councilhas direct links into the businesscommunity of Belfast and viceversa. Our collaboration with theBelfast Chamber ensures we keepin touch with the views of ourbusiness people who are vital tothe success of Belfast.”

SUzANNE WYLIE,BELFAST CITY COUNCIL

NETWORkING

“My experience of Belfast

Chamber is that they want to

make a positive difference for

business through networking and

influencing others! “

MICHELLE GREEvES,vICTORIA SQUARE

LOBBYING“My experience with Belfast

Chamber is that they are an

organisation not just about

identifying problems but one

which likes to come up with

solutions that will help on the way

forward.”

MINISTER MáIRTíN Ó MUILLEOIR,DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

LOBBYING “I have every confidence that theChamber will continue to make asignificant contribution to thefuture of Belfast. The Departmentfor Communities looks forward toworking with the Chamber on thechallenges ahead”.

MARk O’DONNELL,DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES

LOBBYING“The Belfast Chamber provides avoice for the business communityto help shape the future of our cityand it provides a wide range ofopportunities to engage withbusiness, civic and politicalleaders at every level to ensure weachieve our goals.”

PAUL MCMAHON,CASTLECOURT

BILL WOLSEY,MERCHANT HOTEL

suMMArY

SUMMARY

This is a carefully considered plan to capitalise on

Belfast’s key strengths and unlock barriers to

growth in the city.

We have addressed governance, the skills shortage,

planning policy, business rates, infrastructure,

access and commuting issues.

The vision is simple and straightforward

Put Belfast first and make Belfast a World Class City.

Sinclair House, Second Floor,95-101 Royal Avenue, Belfast BTl lFET: 028 9033 1399F: 028 9023 0809W: www.belfastchamber.comE: membership@belfastctc.com