Public to have a vote on the name for new Shankill park with three options put forward

The Bullring Project, which is planned for completion at the end of the summer, includes a community garden, a MUGA, an outdoor gym, two small playgrounds, a dog exercise area, allotments, and a landscaped area leading to the Peters Hill entrance.

The site runs between Regent Street, where there will be a new entrance, and Peter’s Hill, curling alongside the Westlink, beside Denmark Street.

The three options that will go to a public vote via the Belfast City Council website are: Lower Shankill Park, Angel Park, and Rock Roots Park.

In 2010/11 the Lower Shankill Youth Project, which operated from Denmark Street Community Centre, worked with a number of young people who were engaging in anti-social behaviour in the area to change behaviours.

The project came to be referred to locally as the “Lower Shankill Angels” and the Housing Executive funded a statue of an angel to acknowledge its achievements. The statue is currently located at Peter’s Hill but will be relocated to the new park when it is completed.

Regarding the Rock Roots Park option, a council report states: “This suggestion emerged from engagement with children and their parents during summer programmes and after school programmes.

“Staff at the community centres discussed the experience of watching the park being built with local children, focussing on what they saw. The children spoke about the rocks and rubble on site when development started with “muck” replaced by grass and how they have seen it transformed from the “roots” with trees, flowers and plants. From these ideas they settled on a suggested name of Rock Roots Park.”

The council report adds: “There is strong support in the local area to rename the Bullring site because of previous associations with anti-social behaviour and other incidents in the area where the new park has been built.

“In line with the policy framework, local stakeholders came together to develop a list of potential names for the former Bullring site and a panel (including nominated members of the Bullring Stakeholder Group, which was the local reference group for the development and a local councillor) considered the submissions against the criteria in the council’s policy framework.

“Engagement took place via the local summer scheme programmes and after schools programmes at the Hammer and Denmark Street Community Centres in June and July 2023. This was successful in gathering ideas from local children and their parents as well as local community groups. A total of 57 suggested names were received following discussion with the panel.”

At this week’s meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee elected representatives agreed to carry out a full public consultation using the council’s Your Say website, around the three naming options. It is expected that final recommendations on the official name for the new park will be tabled for consideration again at the committee in the autumn.