The Community Greenway project is one of the most exciting ventures to take place in East Belfast, the need for the directors of the project to make sure they get it right, this is essential to the project as it cannot be left when completed to run its self.The Project needs to have packages for business involvement by either leasing sites along the Greenway, where the directors have full control of who they let set up business along the pathway. There is huge investment going into the Greenway and it should be looked at as being a project that will bring jobs to the whole area of East Belfast. The Greenway project should now be looking at sites along the Greenway they could use for lease back.

The Greenway could inject money and jobs into East Belfast it could quite simply run itself and be self financing. This is a very exciting time for East Belfast and we must not turn this project into a white elephant where it is left in the hands of the council to run, this is a time where the expertise of the private sector needs to be included, this project could be the biggest tourist attraction anywhere in Northern Ireland and could bring the East Belfast Community much need revenue for the local shops and generate small pilot business along the the Greenway that could be set aside for young entrepreneurs of East Belfast a chance to lease the sites and use them for Coffee Bars,News Paper Stands and Sweet Shops.

The need to include the Sydenham area is vital for this project as it has the only entrance that will service Victoria park and the greenway project, we have heard lots of talk regarding a footbridge into the park, another white elephant that would turn out to be like all footbridges no one would use it, why would they when there is a perfectly good entrance to the park at the Bottom of Kyle Street, this is the natural entrance to the park it was the entrance to the park before the Sydenham by pass was built, so fix something that is not broken.  It would give the area of Connsbrook Drive and Kyle street a much needed cash injection, and give the community in the area a confidence boost. The funds that were  to be spent on a footbridge could be redirected in to the regeneration of both Connsbrook Drive and Kyle street. This would encourage Northern Ireland Railways  to invest in the old Victoria Halt, which would service the Greenway and Victoria Park this would encourage much needed visitors to the Sydenham area and Victoria Park.

  This is a picture taken in North Manchester by making the street home zoned it encourages the children to play  and also discourages the motorist, this gives a community feeling in the area and neighbours find it much easier to interact, the need for work like this to be included for Kyle Street And Connsbrook Drive would make sense, it would also give the area a plaza down to Victoria Park  and the Greenway. we would encourage home zoning through to Victoria Park Primary School enabling the zones to be closed when children are going to school and returning home in the afternoon,  it would be vital for the Greenway and its survival that the area around Victoria Park is included in this project.

Here we can see Kyle Street and the Entrance to Victoria Park, for many years this entrance has needed an upgrade but now with the Greenway Project it could bring this area back to life, give the young people in the area a focus and purpose, it may give them a chance to step into the ownership of business but in a small way, where it would be small investment for them and in return giving them a purpose for life. Our photo also shows Connsbrook Drive what changes could be made to the lives of people who own their homes along Connsbrook Drive, if the drive was made part of a home zone and landscaped not to carry out such an upgrade would hamper the Greenway project.

These photos show just how much land is being wasted with very little purpose, only used to light the annual bonfire once a year. Yet with a bit of insight this could be a valued community space used by the youth in the area to sell crafts, tea, coffee, newspapers, sweets and bicycle hire,the middle picture shows where the old Victoria halt once stood if this was reopened it would benefit the whole area of Sydenham, Victoria park , Greenway and including the area in the last two photos. it could bring in much needed revenue for the up keep of the Greenway when completed, the area outside any new station could be made into a plaza with seating area and a new and much safer entrance to Victoria Park Primary School.