Great Expectations: streetscape enhancement scheme on lower Great Victoria Street

Linen Quarter BID extended to include Great Victoria Street in February 2023. We have ‘Great Expectations’ that Great Victoria Street will become a renewed and revived part of the district and the city, and we hope our streetscape enhancements will help make the area more attractive to inward investment. Below is an overview of our streetscape improvements to date.

Great Victoria Street Baptist church car park

Six planters were added  to enhance the appearance of this prominent gap site. The planters sit on the inner perimeter of the fencing along Great Victoria Street and Hope Street in order to add some visual interest to the perimeter of this surface car park.

Hope Street car park

15 canvasses depicting artworks featuring architectural heritage within the Linen Quarter were installed on the fencing around the prominent surface car park on the corner of Great Victoria Street and Hope Street in order to add some visual interest to the perimeter of this large vacant site. The canvasses also include the ‘Great Expectations’ branding to announce the wider streetscape enhancement scheme.

Planters were added below the canvases to further enhance the appearance of this prominent gap site.

86-88 Great Victoria Street

Vinyls featuring artworks were placed on top of the shop windows at 86-88 Great Victoria Street. The shopfront improvement works include boarding up of shop windows and entrance and painting of window and door frames.

Marking the start of the lower Great Victoria Street from the City Centre, these two prominent premises have laid vacant for a significant amount of time, leading to substantial neglect.

Downshire Place gap site

This small gap site on the corner with Downshire Place was characterised by dereliction and graffiti.

The aim behind this project was to promote biodiversity in the Great Victoria Street area by creating a micro-habitat for city-dwelling wildlife species (e.g. birds, insects). For this purpose, nine large planters with indigenous plant species that attract birds and insects were placed on site, accompanied by ten bird boxes catering for various bird species including swifts. A forest inspired mural was also installed along adjacent walls to provide a visually interesting backdrop to the scheme and to deter graffiti.

The planters were made using reclaimed materials (e.g. old domestic oil tankers for the inner lining), whereas most of the plants were sourced from local plant nurseries.

Wildflowers were sown on Earth Day 2024 with the help from volunteers based in local businesses.

Bollard scheme

During the month of August, 58 bollards stretching between the Bruce Street junction and the Ventry Street junction were repainted in the LQ BID colours. The combination of vibrant colours and a striking design sequence was chosen to help add visual interest to this part of the Street.

During November an additional 10 bollards in front of the Hope Fellowship Church were also painted. These bollards feature a more pared-back design in LQ BID colours but in line with the original design.

Handy car park

Five large planters with indigenous plant species were placed in front of the perimeter fence in order to shield the car park from sight. The planters feature visual references to the BID’s logo and were made using reclaimed materials whereas most of the plants were sourced from local plant nurseries. The aim behind this project was to promote biodiversity in the Great Victoria Street area by  including plant species that attract birds and insects.

Fanum House vinyls

In June 2023 vinyls featuring stylistic artworks referencing prominent buildings within the Linen Quarter were placed on all seven ground floor window openings of Fanum House (108-110 Great Victoria Street); references include some Linen Quarter institutions such as the Grand Opera House, Crown Liquor Saloon, Ulster Bank building, Thomas Thompson fountain, Ormeau Baths, Ulster Hall and St Malachy’s Church.

Upcoming developments were also included, such as the Belfast Grand Central Station which is due to be completed in 2024, to represent the investment and opportunity coming to the area.

During September the ground floor frontages were completely restored and spruced up with brand new white vinyl surrounds, resulting in a cleaner look.

Park House

In December 2023 the five planters located on the first and second floor levels of the Park House elevation were fitted out with new planting in order to improve the look of the building.

Former Shaftesbury Hospital

The old Shaftesbury Hospital is a two storey hospital building originally designed by W. J. Barre (who also designed Albert Clock & Ulster Hall) for Lady Johnson, in memory of her father Mr Thomas Hughes. The hospital opened on 1st January 1868 and The Belfast Ophthalmic Institution operated here until relocating to the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1946.

Following WWII the hospital was run by the NI Hospitals Authority until it closed down in 2010. The building was B1 listed in March 1988.

In May 2023 the front elevation of the former Shaftesbury Hospital building at 116 Great Victoria Street was cleansed, removing years of dust and soot accumulation and restoring the original colours of the Victorian brickwork. In June, vinyls featuring Victorian sash window designs were placed on the window openings of the listed building at 116 Great Victoria Street, while a similar intervention was completed on the 118-120 Great Victoria Street elevation in November, resulting in a much improved look for the building complex. The front yard zones below the bay windows of 118-120 Great Victoria Street were fitted with bespoke planters in December to enhance the appearance of the building even further.

The building now acts as a window into what Great Victoria Street looked like, and could look like again.

122 – 126 Great Victoria Street

A large scale vinyl featuring a stylistic artwork referencing the Belfast Grand Central Station / Weaver’s Cross development was placed on top of the construction hoarding at 122-126 Great Victoria Street.

The Victorian terraces behind the hoarding have been in a derelict state since they partially burned down in 2016. The site is currently awaiting redevelopment into a residences.

Flying High Mural – 113 Great Victoria Street

Great Victoria Street has always been a place where people from different walks of life would mingle. This site used to house Belfast’s first synagogue, whose members included Sir Otto Jaffe, Lord Mayor of Belfast. It is now home to Hope International, a thriving multi-cultural church.

The birds on “Flying High” represent a mix of species. These include the Godwit, a Dunlin, an Artic Tern and a Lapwing. The latter is semi native and the unofficial national bird for Ireland. The others are all migratory in nature and represent the diversity of the Church congregation. All four birds are sea waders, representing the geography of this part of the city before it became developed (all lands between Sandy Row and the river Lagan were marshlands along the lower course of the river Blackstaff – now culverted underneath Bankmore St).

Finally, all birds represented are either red or amber for their conservation status, raising awareness of the fragility of local wildlife.

The mural was installed in various stages, with completion in February 2024.

115 – 121 Great Victoria Street car park

Eight canvasses depicting artworks featuring architectural heritage within the Linen Quarter were installed on the fence in order to add some visual interest to the perimeter of this large vacant site. The canvasses also include storyboards on the Good Vibrations record shop at no. 121 Great Victoria Street and on the ‘Flying High’ mural at no.115 Great Victoria Street.

Planters were added below the canvases to further enhance the appearance of this prominent gap site.

121 – 127 Great Victoria Street murals

In October, murals were installed on the four front elevations of these Victorian-era terraces, with another mural appearing on the gable wall on Stroud Street. The five different murals all intend to celebrate the theme of ‘Belfast punk scene’ as one of the terraces (nr 121) used to house the famous Good Vibrations record store during the 1980s and early 1990s.  Terri Hooley – the founder of the Good Vibrations store – acted as a catalyst for the emergence of a distinctive Belfast punk scene and has been honoured with a mural on the gable wall on Stroud Street.

The works were enabled by a Belfast City Council Cluster Grant scheme that involved local businesses, with the BID co-funding the project.

32 Shaftesbury Square

The works included the installation of planters on the outer perimeter of the site fencing in combination with storyboards that display the history of Great Victoria Street, a map of all the interventions, a historical outline of key buildings, and information on urban biodiversity.

Hit the North mural

As part of the BID’s sponsorship of the Hit the North Festival 2024, an impressive murals was completed on Shaftesbury Square during the first week of May 2024.

The Shaftesbury Square mural was installed by the French street artist Veks van Hillik and sits on the former Ulster Bank building. The artist’s dreamlike, surreal style takes influence from both popular culture as well as the Flemish masters of past centuries. Measuring approximately 80m2, it is a highly prominent piece of art that can be enjoyed by thousands of commuters and passers-by and on their way in to the City Centre.

23 Shaftesbury Square

This intervention saw the shop signage at this vacant unit renewed with a new vinyl featuring the ‘Great Expectations’ messaging.

Deep cleansing

In March 2023, in preparation for our streetscape enhancement works on the lower Great Victoria Street, the BID commissioned a thorough deep clean. Representing a considerable investment of time and resource, the deep cleanse included weeding & litter removal, power-washing &  graffiti removal. Tackling decades of neglect the cleansing works also included a full pressure wash around the former Shaftesbury hospital building. 

A second deep cleanse was conducted along the street during June. This work also included the painting of various shutters in front of derelict retail units in addition to street cleansing, graffiti removal and weed removal.

Planned works

Although the Great Expectations programme has now been concluded, the BID are planning more interventions along Great Victoria Street. The best way to keep informed is to sign up to our newsletter. 

The ‘Great Expectations’ Project is funded by Department for Communities and supported by Belfast City Council.