Blog: In Defence of the Urban Square

Written by Jackie Redpath Tuesday, 27 March 2012 09:01

Six weeks ago the Belfast City Council started a consultation period for its Investment Programme across Belfast over the next three years. Out of the dozens of proposals, the media (Radio Ulster) picked on one to have some fun with and that was the bizarrely named "Shankill Piazza".

As I pointed out in a previous blog, this was a reference to the long-standing proposal for an Urban Square on the Shankill Road in front of the Nelson Memorial Church. Since the media hype brought the Urban Square into an unwarranted spotlight, there has been some whispered and some louder criticism of the proposal – so here's a defence of the Square.

First off, it's not a new proposal. It first saw the light of day back at the Commuity Planning Weekend in February 1995 and after intensive consultation locally, it became part of a partially successful bid to the Millennium Commission to restore Shankill Road frontages.

Secondly, the Urban Square is part of a much bigger picture – the Greater Shankill Greenway. It is one of the 22 "stepping stone" proposals that will pull the Greenway up the Shankill Road, through the Woodvale parkland, right to the top of the Blackmountain. This Greenway was the subject of a Community Convention back in March 2010 and has been ratified at subsequent Conventions.

The Greenway is the fulfilment of the environmental theme in the Greater Shankill Neighbourhood Renewal Action Plan, itself subject to intensive consultation of Conventions, including those working up the "Agreed Agenda". Some people have said "we don't need more empty spaces on the front of the Road" - referring to the Square. Well actually, between Northumberland Street and Lanark Way and Agnes Street and the Graveyard there are no empty spaces (except on the corner of Lawnbrook Avenue).

The Urban Square would bring the Nelson Church out the front of the Road and create a focal point in which the Shankill can celebrate its culture and music. It will create a performance space and an environmentally pleasant area for people to sit. Should the Shankill Road simply be row upon row of buildings sitting hard up against the pavement? What about the Memorial Park at Wilton Street – anyone want to say it's an "empty space"? And what is the alternative between Canmore Street and the Library? Another row of shop fronts (to lie idle for months) topped by flats – sorry I mean apartments!

The number of "shops" now in alternative use, such as community offices, suggests the economic sustainability for more shops isn't there at present.

In fact, over the years a number of studies have sadly failed to create a solely economic driver for Shankill frontage regeneration. We can't expect to sustain the purely shopping frontage we had when the Greater Shankill's population was 76,000 and half of Belfast seemed to shop on the Shankill.

The economic driver must be supplemented by environmental regeneration – hence the Greenway. We need to create a beautiful Road frontage.

So to my last point. The Shankill isn't exactly coming down with buildings of architectural merit. Two of them would be given their rightful place by the Urban Square. Shankill Library, recently so gloriously restored (have you seen it lit up at night?) would border the Square and be seen as it was meant to be seen and not blocked off by buildings below it. The Library was a competition-winning design by T.W. Henry, brother of the famous Irish painter, Paul Henry.

Then there's the Nelson Memorial Church, closed off from view by the row of shops in front of it for over a century. The Church has history. It was built in 1893, in memory of Rev. Isaac Nelson by his sister. They lived in Sugarfield House, a large house on the site of the old Azamor Street Rangers, surrounded by gardens. Rev. Nelson, a Minister of Donegall Street Presbyterian Church, was eventually to become a Home Rule M.P. for County Mayo, replacing a certain Charles Stewart Parnell – an interesting journey for a Shankill resident.

Anyway, back to the Church. It was designed by William Gilliland, a leader of the Gothic camp in the Queen Anne movement, built of Dumfries sandstone and is one of the few of his buildings remaining in Belfast.

Nelson Memorial is an imposing building – it is time it saw the light of day!