The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Róis-Máire Donnelly, led a cross-party visit to Westminster to advocate for a Belfast Place-Based Growth Fund intended to accelerate the city's ongoing transformation.

If secured, the fund would tackle long-standing development barriers, reinforcing Belfast's role as Northern Ireland's primary economic engine and a significant contributor to UK growth.

Co-ordinated by Belfast City Council and led by the Lord Mayor alongside Chief Executive John Walsh, the delegation drew on input from all four Belfast MPs — Gavin Robinson, John Finucane, Claire Hanna and Paul Maskey.

The team outlined a package combining housing-led and mixed-use regeneration, strategic infrastructure investment, and targeted support for catalytic innovation and development projects — measures designed to bring underutilised land into productive use, attract private capital and create the conditions for sustained, inclusive growth.

They also argued the fund would build on existing Belfast Region City Deal investments and the city's strengths in innovation and services, maximising economic impact and long-term value.

Councillor Donnelly said: "Belfast has so much potential to unlock, but we continue to experience substantial infrastructure and regeneration deficits.

"Tá an oiread sin acmhainneachta ag Béal Feirste, ach tá muid go fóill ag fulaingt de dheasca easnaimh shuntasacha ó thaobh bonneagair agus athghiniúna de. "Historic under-investment, land assembly challenges, infrastructure constraints and development viability gaps have stalled delivery and are limiting our ability to compete in the global marketplace and drive growth in our city and wider region.

"Tá moill curtha ar sheachadadh mar gheall ar an easpa infheistíochta le fada an lá, ar na dúshláin a bhaineann le talamh a chóimeáil, ar shrianta bonneagair agus ar bhearnaí ó thaobh inmharthanacht na forbartha de, agus tá na nithe sin ag cur srian lenár gcumas dul san iomaíocht sa mhargadh domhanda agus fás a spreagadh inár gcathair agus sa réigiún i gcoitinne.

"Our city has such a compelling investment proposition, just look at our talent, our strengths that we're boosting through the Belfast Region City Deal in areas like FinTech and life and health sciences, advanced manufacturing and the creative industries, and our plans for housing-led and mixed-use regeneration, including increasing city centre living.

"Investing in Belfast through a transformative Belfast Place-Based Growth Fund makes sound business sense – we're uniquely positioned and ready to deliver."

The proposed Place-Based Growth Fund targets opportunities that would benefit both Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole.

With support from all political parties on the Council, the city is seeking targeted investment — comparable to funding available in other UK cities — to better equip Belfast to drive growth for Northern Ireland and the UK.

The fund has been shaped by extensive engagement across sectors, aligning with the recent Belfast City Centre Regeneration & Investment Strategy Stocktake and the objectives of The Belfast Agenda, the city's community plan.