The core messages of this report are about opportunity: communities and public bodies in Northern Ireland have most of the tools they need to deliver CLH in Northern Ireland. 

But this requires ambition. Duty bearers such as the Department for Communities, NIHE and local government need to work together, and with communities, if they are to harness the potential that Community-Led Housing (CLH) can provide to deliver high-quality housing in areas like West Belfast.

For communities: Land ownership and funding are an important piece of the puzzle

The Mackie’s site requires the creation of new homes, rather than the regeneration of existing ones (which makes self-help housing a less relevant model), and community land ownership would mean:

• The long-term security and affordability of houses on the site could be guaranteed; and

• Over time the community could also develop social infrastructure and community services.

The community could then choose to self-build new housing on the site (if it felt that it has the tools and skills to being the work, or that it would help to build the community’s skills and experience). This could be developed as co-housing to create a place that promotes integration and fosters community spirit. 

The options are many, but acquiring land is probably the first step. Getting this at an affordable price, via asset transfer, is crucial, and this is something which can be enabled by the Department for Communities, as discussed below.

Communities can acquire funding, finance and loans for land acquisition and other stages of development from a range of sources. Public sector grants for CLH are small or non-existent in Northern Ireland, but UK-wide charitable funders do exist, and there is a broad network of support for groups looking for funding.

For the Department for Communities and NIHE: Explore the business case for funding CLH and for new enabling legislation

The argument for CLH is not just an ethical one. In areas like West Belfast where the market is struggling to provide the homes that people need, CLH could be a crucial tool in the response to the housing crisis and the Department for Communities should give serious consideration to providing grant funding for CLH projects across Northern Ireland. 

In England, such funding has been instrumental in CLH’s growth. The Community Housing Fund, for example, was launched in 2018, and by September 2020 had trebled the pipeline of CLH projects across England. Also crucial to the proliferation of CLH projects in England has been the Localism Act 2011, which makes it easier for communities to express and interest in, and then run or develop, local services in dialogue with local authorities.

The charity Development Trusts Northern Ireland (DTNI) has argued for a Community Rights Act for Northern Ireland that would provide many of these powers, while also drawing on similar legislation in Scotland (particularly the Community Empowerment Act 2015 (Scotland).

Introducing such legislation in Northern Ireland would give communities more confidence to pursue large projects - something that is particularly significant if the Executive wants to see CLH delivered at scale to play a serious role in addressing housing need in places like Belfast.

For the City Council: Proactive partnership with the community could bring huge benefits

The community has made a convincing case for the delivery of new housing on the Mackie’s site and others, and Belfast City Council have provided a thoughtful response. But by taking an enabling role, in partnership with the community, the Council would be utilising another powerful lever in its response to the housing crisis.

Like central government, the city council should review the powers it has to support and encourage CLH as part of its wider response the housing crisis, particularly in relation to its important planning powers. Following the adoption of the Belfast Local Development Plan – Plan Strategy in May 2023, Belfast City Council will be developing the Local Policies Plan, which will include allocations and policies for specific sites. This provides an important opportunity to consider the potential of the large Mackie’s site.

It would be well within the Council’s power to designate the Mackie’s site for housing, including CLH as well as parkland, and the existing framework of community plans does provide a framework for the community to express their visions for the site, if used ambitiously. The City Council may also be able to support CLH Groups’ activities (if not the direct delivery of housing) by providing funding and resources such as meeting space and information.

For all: The need for a clear and compelling vision

Successfully using CLH to develop sites like the Mackie’s will require all partners involved to have a shared vision – a sense of opportunity and ambition - for housing in the city. Indeed, this is something the Take Back the City Coalition has fostered through the ‘City of the Future’ master planning competition for the Mackie’s site, which was won by London based architects Matthew Lloyd.

But for all involved, grounding these visions in human rights, and in basic, universal principles is crucial to making them stick. Models for this exist. The UN has long acknowledged adequate housing as a human right, and in August 2022 its assembly also declared the same for healthy environments.

On a much smaller scale, the Town and Country Planning Association’s Healthy Homes Principles provide a powerful and evidence-based articulation of what all new homes should provide to their residents (see Box 8 below). A growing number of local authorities, charities, and private companies in England are adopting them a statement of ambition, and there’s nothing to stop groups in Northern Ireland doing the same.

The Take Back the City Coalition itself was established in the fundamental belief that ‘we can build a better Belfast - a city that’s not divided by walls, where everyone has a home and the things that really matter are society’s priorities - family, community, environment, health and happiness.’

The opportunity is there for Northern Ireland to develop a powerful housing strategy, involving funding, community leadership and legislation, which would end the housing crisis. The master planning competition is setting the vision. This report has described some of the available tools. Now is the time for action.

Read and download the full report ‘Community Led Housing in Northern Ireland: Take back the city’

To make your voice heard on rezoning the Mackie's site, click here.