Gasworks Social Space

The Gasworks Social Space public realm improvement scheme foresees the transformation of the central green space in the Gasworks into a public ‘outdoor living room’ through the addition of dynamic and user-friendly public realm features. The aim of the project is to promote the central green space as a social focal point for Gasworks employees and visitors alike.

Although the general appearance of the green space is excellent due to an intensive maintenance regime, it currently contains limited visual interest and social vibrancy. Due to the visually secluded set-up of the business park (e.g. gateways), the general public and visitors tend to navigate their way around the area rather than through it. The Laganside entrance zone is a case in point. The current state of the entrance zone is of defined by overgrown planting beds and inadequate lighting that discourages people from using it, particularly during the darker winter months.

These issues have led to a suppression of social activity in the central green space and a general perception of the Gasworks as a mono-functional enclave that does not form part of the city centre. However, the proximity of the Gasworks area to the City Centre means that the central green space could act as a social focal point for a wide range of users, including residents of the Ormeau Avenue area. Its position between the river Lagan and Ormeau Avenue means that there is a flow of pedestrians and cyclists commuting through the area, a flow that is set to increase significantly upon the completion of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across the river Lagan. The central green space therefore has the potential to act as a key public space within the wider city centre.

Indeed, the Gasworks central green space has been recognised in the BID’s own Regeneration Vision (2019) as a prominent public space that would be capable of functioning as the gateway to the Linen Quarter and the wider city centre, linking Ormeau Park and the Lagan towpath to the Ormeau Avenue / Bankmore Street corridor to the Belfast Grand Central Station on Durham Street. Envisioned as a key cycling and pedestrian route alongside the BRT2, this corridor would significantly boost the prominence of the central green space as a public space with a reach beyond the Gasworks. The green space bears the potential to become a destination in its own right and provide opportunities for leisure and animation while enhancing the sense of place for Gasworks employees and visitors alike.

The BID’s 2023-28 Business Plan picks up this ambition and envisions the Gasworks central green space as a high-quality social space that could enhance the social vibrancy within the Gasworks area. The repurposing of the green space into a social focal point that is accessible to all is central to this ambition. The Business Plan also recognises the Laganside entrance zone to the Gasworks area as an important physical link within the envisaged enhanced cycling and pedestrian route between the river Lagan and Belfast Grand Central Station. The BID aims to improve this entrance zone through a number of low-key interventions that will lift the visual amenity of the site.

In summary, the BID believe that an enhanced green space and Laganside entrance zone would provide the following benefits:

• Facilitation of modal shift in modes of transport from private car use to cycling, wheeling and walking;
• Provision of a high quality city centre green space that is accessible and suitable for a variety of public events;
• Provision of an improved outdoor amenity space for a growing population of residents based in the Ormeau Road, Cromac Avenue and Ormeau Avenue communities;
• Increased viability of Gasworks businesses by boosting footfall and local spend;
• Increased biodiversity value for the Gasworks estate.

Following a public tender process, Linen Quarter BID appointed The Paul Hogarth Company as the design consultant on the Gasworks Social Space project in May. Following a consultation process involving Gasworks businesses and landlords, local communities and professional stakeholders, The Paul Hogarth Company have now produced a detailed site plan that has been submitted to the Council for formal approval. The BID aim to start the construction works in May 2025 with a view to finish the works before July 2025, subject to planning approval.