Belfast Region City Deal

City Deals are bespoke packages of funding and decision-making powers negotiated between central government and local authorities. They're aimed at helping to harness additional investment, create new jobs and accelerate inclusive economic growth.

This short film outlines our ambitious plans for the Belfast City Region. 

The Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) comprises of the six councils of: 

• Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, 
• Ards and North Down Borough Council, 
• Belfast City Council, 
• Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, 
• Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and 
• Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, working in partnership with:
• Queen's University Belfast 
• Ulster University,
• Belfast Metropolitan College
• Northern Regional College, 
• South Eastern Regional College and the Southern Regional College and with the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service to drive inclusive economic growth across the region.

Following the announcement by the Chancellor in November 2018, the BRCD partners agreed a Heads of Terms document in March 2019 which confirmed the joint commitment to achieve full implementation of the Belfast Region City Deal by all BRCD Partners, the NI Departments and the UK Government. Outline Business Cases are currently being prepared for our 22 ambitious projects and an underpinning employability and skills programme.

A successful City Deal is about so much more than individual areas, it’s about working together to ensure that it benefits people living in the whole region, so that we connect them to more and better jobs and opportunities, and attract investment to the region. The Belfast Region City Deal will see the UK Government invest £350 million into the Belfast Region over the next 15 years. This figure will be matched by the Northern Ireland Departments and a further co-investment of upwards of £150 million from Belfast Region City Deal partners. 

This investment will help strengthen the region’s business offer in growth sectors such as life and health sciences, the digital and creative industries, and advanced manufacturing. It will also support next generation digital capabilities, boost tourism and support the regeneration of our region, underpinned by infrastructure developments and investment in skills to connect people to jobs and services.

As a first step, the partner councils worked with city and region stakeholders, including politicians, the private sector, universities and colleges to complete a robust analysis of our competitive strengths, the key economic challenges facing the region – and what our most pressing needs are.

This research has helped to shape the four pillars of our ambitious proposition: 

• Innovation and digital
• Boosting tourism
• Infrastructure
• Employability and skills

BRCD partners fully support other deals for NI and will work to ensure that they are complementary to one another.  

To receive a download of the Belfast Region City Deal summary, email us at BRCD@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 028 9027 0276.

We’ll share updates on the Belfast Region City Deal on Twitter using #BRcitydeal