The Belfast Region City Deal reported a series of major achievements in 2025/26 as projects moved from planning into delivery across Northern Ireland, according to its latest Annual Report.

At a September meeting in Bangor hosted by Ards and North Down Borough Council, the Belfast Region City Deal Council Panel received an update focused on the Annual Report 2025-26 and the widening economic, social and community benefits taking shape across the region.

Backed by £1 billion of investment, the programme aims to help create up to 20,000 new and better jobs, position the Belfast region at the forefront of innovation in manufacturing, the creative industries and healthcare, and open up opportunities for local people and businesses while regenerating major towns and cities.

In Newtownabbey, the AMIC Factory of the Future is now providing companies with expert support and state-of-the-art equipment to boost growth and competitiveness. In north Belfast, Studio Ulster is drawing high-value international film and TV productions that might otherwise have gone to virtual production hubs in London or Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the flagship UK Digital Twin Centre in central Belfast is enabling SMEs to use digital simulation to enhance products, operations and decision-making.

Construction is progressing at iREACH Health on the Lisburn Road, designed to make Belfast a leading location for clinical trials and healthcare research. Momentum One Zero is taking shape in the Titanic Quarter as a collaborative hub where academia, industry and the public sector will develop and deploy advanced digital technologies. Both facilities are scheduled to open in 2027.

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Tourism and regeneration schemes are also moving forward. Designs for Bangor Waterfront are at an advanced stage, with planning applications submitted for Ballyholme Yacht Club and Pickie Fun Park, and design teams being procured for the Urban Waterfront and Public Realm. Design development is accelerating on Destination Royal Hillsborough, Carrickfergus Regeneration and The Gobbins Phase II, with planning applications lodged and construction packages being readied for the market. Newry City Centre Regeneration has hit a key milestone, with construction due to begin on the Theatre and Conference Centre.

Plans for Belfast Stories — a new public space, visitor experience and creative hub on Royal Avenue — are well advanced, and construction has started on the Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology on Frederick Street.

Building on the success of Augment the City, which explored how immersive technologies can elevate culture and tourism, a £4.6 million Regional Contracts for Innovation fund will launch later this autumn to support partners tackling regional challenges. A £2 million collaborative grants programme has also been approved to encourage local SMEs to work with BRCD innovation centres.

Chairing the meeting, the Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Craig Blaney, said: "The latest Annual Report shows the Belfast Region City Deal moving decisively from planning to delivery, with key milestones being reached, investment being unlocked and communities already seeing real benefits through apprenticeships and work experience.

"This ambitious, long-term programme of investment is strengthening our economy, regenerating places, supporting innovation and helping people access new skills and better jobs.

"As ever, partnership remains central to the Deal's success. By combining the expertise, resources and commitment of our councils, universities, colleges, government and delivery partners, we're achieving more for the Belfast region, together."

Looking ahead to 2026-27, partners anticipate further significant progress, with priorities including starting building work at the Centre for Digital Healthcare Technologies, advancing Bangor Waterfront design appointments, completing construction at iREACH Health and Momentum One Zero, launching the Regional Contracts for Innovation and Innovation Centres Collaborative Grants programmes, securing approval for additional digital innovation schemes to support local innovators and businesses, and continuing work on benefits realisation, employability, skills and social value.

To read the Belfast Region City Deal Annual Report and learn more about the investment programme, visit www.belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk.