The site of a former automotive component factory in Belfast, where workers protested against its sudden shutdown in 2009, has been transformed into a new affordable neighbourhood.
200 workers at the Visteon plant in West Belfast lost their jobs with five minutes’ notice in March 2009, prompting a sit-in at the site that lasted until a redundancy pay deal was concluded in May that year.
Now, after a £30m project by Radius Housing, the 21.5-acre site is occupied again, this time with 195 social homes and 48 affordable homes for sale, with landscaped public spaces and a play park.
The Blacks Gate development off Blacks Road in Dunmurry was half-funded through Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities. Radius Housing says it’s one of Northern Ireland’s most significant social and affordable housing developments.
The company acquired the site in 2013. It required remediation, demolition, and environmental works, including asbestos removal. The first homes were handed over in summer 2021.
Now, it includes a mix of family homes, apartments, and wheelchair-accessible accommodation. Social and affordable homes have been integrated with private homes to make a tenure-blind neighbourhood.
‘A powerful example’
“Blacks Gate is a powerful example of what can be achieved when we are prepared to take on difficult sites, think long-term, and remain committed to a vision through periods of uncertainty and change,” said Radius Housing development director Anita Conway.
“This was not a straightforward project. It involved extensive remediation and demolition, planning and consultation, construction challenges, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures, and wider economic and political uncertainty.”
She said the project demonstrated “the important role housing associations can play in unlocking complex sites that may otherwise remain undeveloped”.
“Most importantly, the success of Blacks Gate can be seen in the community that has emerged. Families are settled into their homes, children are playing in the park, and a site that was once associated with dereliction has become a place where people can live, grow, and build their futures,” Conway said.
