The Cromac Regeneration Initiative

The building, pictured below, is scheduled to become the focal point of a unique (in South Belfast) inter-community shared space - shared future project, fully ascribed to and supported by a partnership between the three Inner South Belfast organisations representing the area’s constituent communities, viz., Donegall Pass Community Forum, Lower Ormeau Residents’ Action Group and the Markets Development Association. The property is situated at a convenient confluence of the three interfacing communities (at the junction of the Ormeau Road and Donegall Pass, facing the Gasworks site).  This seminal project - entitled the “Cromac Regeneration Initiative” - will form the locus for a shared resource space to house projects germane to the needs of the local people of all three areas. The execution of the Cromac Regeneration Initiative (CRI) will result in enhanced social capital across the Inner South Belfast Communities through the raising of educational, employability skills and strengthened inter and intra community relationships. It is intended that this project will be a model of good practice and will attract mainstream funding and other sources of investment.

Standing outside the proposed CRI building (left to right): Gerard Rice (LORAG), Ken Orr (DPCF), Elaine Mansfield (DPCF), Gerard Davison (MDA).

The project’s success will encourage new participants to become actively involved, on a voluntary basis, in all aspects of the programme; the success of the venture, including the establishment of a shared resource accessible and available to all, will be a lasting legacy and a catalyst for a shared future and space.

The building, formerly known as ‘The South Belfast Economic Resource Centre’, was erected in the mid 1990s and was jointly financed through a public/private venture involving a local developer.  Contractually, the public interest lapsed in 2004 and the building has since remained unoccupied.

The project’s prime objectives include the promotion of mutual understanding and respect for the cultural traditions of others; the encouragement and support of good relations by building upon and improving established relationships between and within the three communities; and the breaking down of the barriers to harmonious relations and removal of the causes of sectarian tensions. The establishment of a shared space/resource in the identified location – accessible and welcoming to all, regardless of perceived cultural identity – will enable the achievement of these objectives.

The fulfilment of these objectives - together with the facilitation of collaborative and co-operative work on common issues; the reduction of fear and stresses between and within the communities; the provision of equality of, and the improvement in the quality of, services; the encouragement of greater community cohesion through integration and capacity building; and the realisation of a ‘shared organisational space’ represented by this project’s aims - will afford a unique opportunity, in south Belfast, to challenge prejudice, intolerance, sectarianism and racism in a shared society.

The Involvement of the International Fund for Ireland

The involvement of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) has been a crucial factor in dramatically advancing the project towards its ultimate realisation.  During November 2009, IFI announced that it had decided to offer funding in the sum of £800,000 towards the capital purchase and refurbishment of the building.  This sum represents almost 80% of the total project cost (the inter-community partnership is actively seeking funds to eliminate the shortfall). The International Fund for Ireland’s proactive engagement, from the outset, and its retention of the invaluable services of Mr Derek Brown (of Insight Business Services) to conduct a feasibility study and economic appraisal of all aspects of the proposed project has been immeasurably helpful. The positive result of this ‘quality assurance’ process has reinforced confidence in the project’s prospects for success.

Furthermore, in response to the partnership’s application for funding to employ an ‘Inter-Community Development Worker’ (working title), IFI allocated approximately £113,500.  During October 2010, the funding package was completed in the form of ‘match funding’, in the sum of £10,000, awarded through the European Regional Development Fund’s PEACE III Programme 2007-2013 (administered by Belfast City Council’s Good Relations Partnership and facilitated by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s Community Cohesion Unit).

Inter-Community Development Worker

Concomitant with the aims and objectives of the CRI project, the Inter-Community Development Worker will be directed to:

• Secure appropriate safe shared space resources to facilitate collaborative and co-operative work, involving the three inner south Belfast communities, on common issues;
• Encourage and support good relations by building upon and improving established relationships between and within the three communities of inner south Belfast;
• Break down the barriers between communities and work to remove the causes of sectarian tensions;
• Reduce fear and stresses between and within the communities;
• Provide equality, and improve quality, of services;
• Promote mutual understanding and respect for each other’s cultural traditions;
• Encourage greater community cohesion through integration and capacity building;
• Address issues that involve unreasoning and illogical antagonism toward foreign migrant workers – as well as challenging the mythology and stupidity of racism.

The Inter-Community Development Worker will address and promote community relations between the three areas and build sustainable communities by delivering inter community training in Health and Wellbeing, Community Safety, Capacity Building, Citizenship and Training for Employment. The beneficiaries will also receive training that will promote and encourage dialogue among and between participants from the three areas in: Conflict Resolution, Mutual Understanding, Addressing the Past and Planning for the future.  The proposed training will empower participants, through the instillation of knowledge – giving them the capacity to take more control over their own lives and to have much more influence in matters having the potential to negatively or positively affect their communities.

Open dialogue, while a feature of the relationship between community workers in inner south Belfast, has been conducted, generally, on an ad hoc basis due to other pressing demands on time and resources – ergo the necessity of employing an inter-community worker dedicated to, and concentrating upon, overcoming real or imagined divisions and the promotion of reconciliation between the two traditions and advancing social and economic progress in accord with the shared future agenda.

The employment of an Inter-Community Development Worker will ensure that the ‘shared space objective’ remains prime; it is properly co-ordinated; that clear and direct communication is at all times maintained between all interested parties; that the partners in the inter-community tri-partite group have full input; that the constituent communities are fully consulted and their needs are fully reflected in access to resources at the shared space location.

The day-to-day operational management of the ‘Inter-Community Development Worker’ will fall under the purview of the Donegall Pass Community Forum (DPCF) Development Manager who will be responsible for ensuring that the policies and directions of the, recently formalised, Cromac Regeneration Initiative Board are executed in accordance with the aims and objectives of the project. The DPCF Development Manager will report, and be accountable, to the Cromac Regeneration Initiative Board - the community representative members of which will report to their respective Management Committees (viz., Donegall Pass Community Forum, Lower Ormeau Residents’ Action Group and the Markets Development Association).  Feedback obtained from the respective management committees, together with the results of direct respective community consultations, will be continuously brought to Cromac Regeneration Board meetings (regular and ad hoc) to inform the work and progress of the ‘Inter-Community Development Worker’. The progress of the project will be continuously reviewed and monitored. A full independent evaluation will be carried out at the conclusion of the project.

Some Comments About The Project

From the December 2009 issue of “The Pass” community newspaper: (Link)

"This very welcome funding, with the additional award of over £113,000 to enable us to employ an inter-community worker with programme funds, will allow the Forum, together with our partners, to deliver Peace and Reconciliation Programmes and Social Economy Projects within and between the three Inner South Belfast Interface Communities", said Elaine Mansfield, Donegall Pass Community Forum's Development Manager.

The Forum's Chairperson, Mr Harry Todd, expressed his delight and commented, "For the first time the residents of Donegall Pass community will own a share of an asset worth several hundreds of thousands of pounds and have access to a valuable income stream, independent of public funding. The employment of an interface worker will promote and drive this initiative’s work in conflict transformation and support inter-community partnership work, community relations interventions and reconciliation. It will identify, secure and develop shared space and work towards a shared future, an embedded peace and inclusive community."

Elaine Mansfield added that "the Project will be an asset to all three neighbouring communities and will enhance the work being carried out jointly through our Neighbourhood Action Plan."

Links:

Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community
Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community June 2008, pdf 3.4Mb (Low Resolution)
Donegall Pass Community Forum - A Snapshot, December 2009, pdf 1.12Mb (Low Resolution)
Documents
Donegall Pass Community Newspaper

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© Donegall Pass Community Forum 2010