EastSide Greenways

'Community Ownership Business Development' - The Connswater Community Greenway provides 9km of greenway in East Belfast and a high quality, free and open space for the community to engage with urban green space through recreation, active travel, and other activities. Since completion of the Greenway in 2017, EastSide Greenways have continued to engage with our stakeholders to identify areas for further improvement and intervention. Through this engagement, the Bowling Pavilion and green in Orangefield Park has been identified by residents and stakeholders as an underused community asset which they would like to see developed into a thriving community hub in the park.

Through doing so, it is hoped that a space can be created for shared and multipurpose use for schools, young people, environmental activities and park users. It would also offer much needed shelter and toilets in the park, improving peoples access to and use of the park. The innovation fund has allowed EastSide Partnership to explore community ownership of the site using animation, participatory design, and co-production to see what the area would look like under community ownership. A business plan has been developed to facilitate ownership from the local authority and into the community so that it can be modernised and ready for local users.