3
Summary Tables and Graphs
The following summary tables detail the supply of housing for the Belfast district from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 and provide a snapshot of the land remaining for housing and its associated potential capacity to accommodate new homes. Cumulative totals are also provided since the Council’s housing monitor was established – for example 1 April 2015, the date at which the Council gained statutory responsibility for planning.
It should be noted that these cumulative totals will reflect the total since the Council gained statutory responsibility for planning until such time as an up-to-date Local Development Plan for the new district is adopted, establishing appropriate targets to monitor delivery against.
3.1 Settlement Summary
Table 1 provides a breakdown of the housing supply, land availability and capacity for future housing units for each Settlement within the District, including Belfast City and the Small Settlements of Edenderry, Hannahstown and Loughview.
Belfast City is then further sub-divided into a number of settlement areas or sectors based on key designations within the prevailing development plan. These areas include Belfast City Centre, the Belfast Harbour Estate and Outer Belfast, which is defined as the area covered by the Settlement Limit of Belfast City outside of the City Centre and Harbour Area.
The data within the table is divided into the following columns:
- Area Developed 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 – the area of land in hectares (ha) developed during the current monitor year;
- Area Developed 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2023 – the cumulative area of land in hectares (ha) developed to date from 1 April 2015 (the date at which the Council gained statutory responsibility for planning);
- Units Complete 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 – the number of dwellings completed during the current monitor year;
- Units Complete 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2023 – the cumulative total number of dwellings completed to date from 1 April 2015 (the date at which the Council gained statutory responsibility for planning);
- Available Potential (Hectares) – the area of land estimated as available for additional dwelling completions within monitored sites as at 31 March 2023; and
- Available Potential (Dwelling Units) – the estimated number of dwellings that could be accommodated on the available potential land as at 31 March 2023.
During the 2022 - 2023 monitoring year 714 units were completed on 16.3 ha of land across the District. 343.4 ha of land remains, with potential capacity for 20,901 units. Within Belfast City, 702 units completed were within Outer Belfast, with a further 9 units completed within the City Centre. 11,490 of the available potential units are within Outer Belfast, whilst 6,261 and 3,128 potential dwelling units remain in the City Centre and Harbour Area respectively. There were 3 completions in Edenderry, no completions in Hannahstown or Loughview with a total of 22 potential dwelling units available across these three Small Settlements.
Figure 1 shows the total dwellings completed for the district from 2015 - 2016 to present, to allow for an analysis of trends over a longer timeframe. The total number of dwellings completed in the district has decreased by 5.3 per cent from 754 in 2021 - 2022 to 714 in the current monitor year.
3.2 Urban Footprint Summary
Table 2 provides a breakdown of the housing supply, land availability and capacity for future housing units within Belfast City, further categorised into land within the identified ‘Urban Footprint’ [Footnote 3] or Greenfield land. This only refers to Belfast City, given that the Urban Footprint is only defined in relation to settlements with a population greater than 5,000 people. This excludes Belfast’s three Small Settlements.
In addition to the columns featured in Table 1 (as described in Section 3.1), the Units within the Urban Footprint (per cent) row calculates the proportion of dwellings completed within the Urban Footprint during the current monitor year and the cumulative total number of dwellings completed to date from 1 April 2015 (the date at which the Council gained statutory responsibility for planning), expressed as a percentage of the total number of dwellings completed over the respective time periods.
89.3 per cent of the 711 units completed within Belfast City were built on land within the Urban Footprint. Of the remaining potential dwelling units, 95.6 per cent are within the Urban Footprint.
Figure 2 shows the proportion of dwellings within the Urban Footprint for the district from 2015 - 2016 to present, to allow for an analysis of trends over a longer timeframe. The proportion of dwellings completed within the Urban Footprint has increased from 84.5 per cent in 2021 - 2022 to 89.3 per cent in the current monitor year.
3.3 Land Use Zoning Summary
Table 3 provides a breakdown of the dwelling units completed by type of land use zoning within the prevailing development plan within each settlement or settlement area. The data within this table is divided into the following columns:
- Land Zoned for Housing – the number of units completed and the remaining potential units on land allocated for residential use within the prevailing development plan;
- Land Zoned for Mixed Use – the number of units completed and the remaining potential units on land zoned for mixed use development, which includes an element of residential development within key site requirements;
- All other land – the number of units completed and the remaining potential units on any other land not falling within the first two, which include non-zoned land and land zoned for non-residential uses; and
- Proportion of Zoned Land (per cent) – the proportion of units completed on either housing or mixed use zoned land expressed as a percentage of the total number of dwellings completed.
30.7 per cent of the dwelling units completed during 2022 - 2023 have been delivered on zoned land within Belfast City. The number of units completed on all other land was 495 dwellings.
Figure 3 shows the proportion of units completed for the district on both housing or mixed use zoned land expressed as a percentage of the total number of dwellings completed from 2015 - 2016 to present. This proportion has increased from 36.3 per cent in 2021 - 2022 to 30.7 per cent in the current monitor year. Figure 4 shows the total number of units completed on all other land. This ‘windfall’ provision has increased by 3.1 per cent from 480 units in 2021 - 2022 to 495 in the current monitor year.
Table 4 provides details of the capacity for future dwelling units on the same basis as Table 3. Of the remaining potential available for future dwellings, 34.4 per cent is currently zoned for housing or mixed use. 3,525 of the available 20,901 potential dwelling units can be delivered on land zoned for housing and 3,668 units on land zoned for mixed use. In comparison, 13,708 of the remaining potential units can be provided on all other land.
Table 1: Settlement Summary 2022 - 2023
|
Settlement |
Area Developed (Hectares) |
Units Complete |
Available Potential (Hectares) |
Available Potential (Dwelling Units) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/15 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/15 to 31/03/23 |
|||
|
Belfast City |
||||||
|
Outer Belfast |
16.1 |
141 |
702 |
5,129 |
219.5 |
11,490 |
|
City Centre |
0.1 |
2.6 |
9 |
372 |
36.5 |
6,261 |
|
Harbour Area |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
86 |
3,128 |
|
Belfast City Total |
16.2 |
143.6 |
711 |
5,501 |
342 |
20,879 |
|
Small Settlements |
||||||
|
Edenderry |
0.1 |
0.1 |
3 |
3 |
0.8 |
18 |
|
Hannahstown |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0 |
23 |
0.4 |
3 |
|
Loughview |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0.2 |
1 |
|
Small Settlement Total |
0.1 |
1.1 |
3 |
26 |
1.4 |
22 |
|
District Total |
16.3 |
144.7 |
714 |
5,527 |
343.4 |
20,901 |
Note: Hectare values may not tally due to rounding.
Table 2: Urban Footprint Summary 2022/23
| Settlement or Area | Area Developed (Hectares) | Units Complete | Available Potential (Hectares) | Available Potential (Dwelling Units) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/04/22 to 31/03/23 | 01/04/15 to 31/03/23 | 01/04/22 to 31/03/23 | 01/04/15 to 31/03/23 | ||||
|
Urban Footprint |
11.9 |
103.1 |
635 |
4,680 |
306.8 |
19,958 |
|
|
Units within the Urban Footprint (per cent) |
- |
- |
89.3 per cent |
85.1 per cent |
- |
95.6 per cent |
|
|
Greenfield |
4.2 |
40.5 |
76 |
821 |
35.3 |
921 |
|
| Belfast City Total | 16.2 | 143.6 | 711 | 5,501 | 342 | 20,879 | |
Note: Hectare values may not tally due to rounding.
Figure 1: Total Dwellings Completed 2015 - 2023
| Figure 1: Total Dwellings Completed 2015 - 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Year | No. of Units |
| 2015 - 2016 | 555 |
| 2016 - 2017 | 714 |
| 2017 - 2018 | 659 |
| 2018 - 2019 | 830 |
| 2019 - 2020 | 698 |
| 2020 - 2021 | 603 |
| 2021 - 2022 | 754 |
| 2022 - 2023 | 714 |
Figure 2: Proportion of Dwellings Within the Urban Footprint 2015 - 2023
| Figure 2: Proportion of Dwellings Within Urban Footprint 2015-2023 | |
|---|---|
| Year | Proportion ( per cent) |
| 2015 - 2016 | 93.10 per cent |
| 2016- 2017 | 93.00 per cent |
| 2017 - 2018 | 82.10 per cent |
| 2018 - 2019 | 84.10 per cent |
| 2019 - 2020 | 76.40 per cent |
| 2020 - 2021 | 81.60 per cent |
| 2021 - 2022 | 84.50 per cent |
| 2022 - 2023 | 89.30 per cent |
Table 3: Land Use Zoning Completed Units 2022 - 2023
|
Settlement or Area |
Units Complete |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land Zoned for Housing | Land Zoned for Mixed Use | All other land | Total |
Proportion on Zoned Land (per cent) |
||||||
|
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
01/04/22 to 31/03/23 |
|
| Belfast City | ||||||||||
|
Outer Belfast |
219 |
1,553 |
0 |
60 |
483 |
3,516 |
702 |
5,129 |
31.2 per cent |
31.4 per cent |
|
City Centre |
0 |
37 |
n/a |
n/a |
9 |
335 |
9 |
372 |
0.0 per cent |
9.9 per cent |
|
Harbour Area |
n/a |
n/a |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 per cent |
0.0 per cent |
|
Belfast Total |
219 |
1,590 |
0 |
60 |
492 |
3,851 |
711 |
5,501 |
30.8 per cent |
30 per cent |
|
Small Settlements |
||||||||||
|
Edenderry |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Hannahstown |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
0 |
23 |
0 |
23 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Loughview |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Small Settlement Total |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
3 |
26 |
3 |
26 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
DISTRICT TOTAL |
219 |
1,590 |
0 |
60 |
495 |
3,877 |
714 |
5,527 |
30.7per cent |
29.9 per cent |
Figure 3: Proportion of Units Complete on Zoned land 2015-2023
| Figure 3: Proportion of Units Complete on Zoned land 2015 - 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Year | Proportion ( per cent) |
| 2015 - 2016 | 26.3 per cent |
| 2016 - 2017 | 30.8 per cent |
| 2017 - 2018 | 28.0 per cent |
| 2018 - 2019 | 25.8 per cent |
| 2019 - 2020 | 27.7 per cent |
| 2020 - 2021 | 29.0 per cent |
| 2021 - 2022 | 36.3 per cent |
| 2022 - 2023 | 30.7 per cent |
Figure 4: No. of Units Complete on All Other Land 2015 - 2023
|
Figure 4: No. of Units Complete on All Other Land 2015-2023 |
|
|---|---|
| Year | No. of Units |
| 2015 - 2016 | 409 |
| 2016 - 2017 | 494 |
| 2017 - 2018 | 450 |
| 2018 - 2019 | 616 |
| 2019 - 2020 | 505 |
| 2020 - 2021 | 428 |
| 2021 - 2022 | 480 |
| 2022 - 2023 | 495 |
Table 4: Land Use Zoning Remaining Potential Units 2022 - 2023
| Remaining Potential Units | Land Zoned for Housing | Land Zoned for Mixed Use | All other land | Total | Proportion on Zoned Land (per cent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement or Area | Belfast City | ||||
| Outer Belfast | 2,873 | 653 | 7,964 | 11,490 | 30.7 per cent |
| City Centre | 652 | n/a | 5,609 | 6,261 | 10.4 per cent |
| Harbour Area | n/a | 3,015 | 113 | 3,128 | 96.4 per cent |
| Belfast City Total | 3,525 | 3,668 | 13,686 | 20,879 | 34.5 per cent |
| Small Settlements | |||||
| Edenderry | n/a | n/a | 18 | 18 | n/a |
| Hannahstown | n/a | n/a | 3 | 3 | n/a |
| Loughview | n/a | n/a | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| Small Settlement Total | n/a | n/a | 22 | 22 | n/a |
| District Total | 3,525 | 3,668 | 13,708 | 20,901 | 34.4 per cent |
