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New Titanic Quarter access route to boost connectivity and active travel

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20th May 2022

New Titanic Quarter access route to boost connectivity and active travel

Titanic Quarter and Queen’s Island commuters, residents and visitors can now benefit from a new pedestrian walkway, cycleway and road that provides easier access to Titanic Quarter and Queen’s Island and increases opportunities for active travel.

The extension to Hamilton Road connects Queen’s Road and Sydenham Road and, in addition to implementing new cycle lanes, the route will encourage more people to cycle in Titanic Quarter by housing the district’s fourth Belfast Bikes station, known as ‘Titanic Quarter Railway Halt’.

Hamilton Road is one of a series of joint initiatives between Titanic Quarter Ltd and Belfast Harbour in a significant £3 million co-investment to encourage active and sustainable travel and improve the connectivity of Titanic Quarter and Queen’s Island to other areas of Belfast and beyond.

Both organisations have a shared vision to continue the development of an iconic, sustainable waterfront destination. The introduction of improved pedestrian and cycle routes will encourage active travel and reduce the reliance on the private motor car.

The investment project has also included the upgrade of existing pedestrian and cycling infrastructure from Victoria Park to Dee Street Roundabout following engagement with partner organisations including Sustrans, Eastside Partnership and the Department for Infrastructure.

The opening of Hamilton Road was welcomed by Joe O’Neill, Chief Executive of Belfast Harbour. He said:

“Our aim is to make Queen’s Island more sustainable and this investment is an important step in ensuring that travel to and from Queen’s Island reflects this focus on sustainable construction and development which has been adopted in this part of the City. Belfast Harbour and Titanic Quarter Ltd are working together to play our part in the wider vision of making Belfast a progressive, green and Smart city.”

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Michael Long, welcomed the announcement and said: “I am delighted that the extension to Hamilton Road includes a new Just Eat Belfast Bikes station which will in turn promote both active and sustainable travel in Belfast. The Just Eat Belfast Bikes project has been hugely successful in the last seven years and will undoubtedly continue to create a better connected, low carbon, climate resilient city.”

Also welcoming the opening of Hamilton Road, James Eyre, Commercial Director at Titanic Quarter Ltd, said:

“The opening of Hamilton Road is an important step in developing our vision of making Titanic Quarter an iconic, sustainable waterfront destination. Along with Belfast Harbour, we continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that this investment encourages active and sustainable travel.”

//ENDS

Notes to Editors

Titanic Quarter

Belfast’s Titanic Quarter is one of Europe’s largest urban-waterfront regeneration projects.

Master-planned over 185 acres on the site where RMS Titanic was designed and built, Titanic Quarter is redefining what it means to work, live, visit and stay in central Belfast. In just over a decade of development Titanic Quarter has evolved into a world class tourism destination, an educational and media campus, a residential community, accommodating high quality Grade A offices and premium retail outlets.

Titanic Quarter offers a location that has sufficient space and advanced I.T. infrastructure to maximise productivity benefits for the highly competitive, high value added international financial, innovation and business services. Citi’s Gateway Offices, located at the entrance to Titanic Quarter, emerged as a symbol of growth of international financial services in Belfast. Olympic House, currently under construction, is the next Grade A office development in Titanic Quarter, which on completion, will accommodate over 1,500 jobs in a BREEAM excellent, state of the art office environment. Further Grade A office developments are planned for Titanic Quarter.

Titanic Quarter attracts global investors growing and extending their international operations. With over 100 national and international organisations, occupants include Citi, Catalyst, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and SAP. University of Ulster, Queens University Belfast and Belfast Met are also already established in Titanic Quarter.

Titanic Quarter’s Abercorn Residential Complex of 474 high quality apartment homes is located in the centre of a lively urban community with retail units on the ground floor that include a Spar convenience store, Subway and independent coffee shops, representing the modern face of Belfast.

Existing Titanic Quarter hotels include the Titanic Hotel Belfast (120 rooms) which opened in 2017 in the former Harland & Wolff Headquarters Building and Drawing Offices and the Premier Inn Titanic Quarter (121 rooms). Construction of the Hamilton Dock Hotel, a 274-bedroom family focussed hotel adjacent to SS Nomadic and Titanic Belfast, will commence in 2022 further strengthening Belfast’s business, conferencing, leisure and heritage tourism growth.

attracting millions of visitors annually to experience Titanic heritage, Titanic Quarter has acquired the status as a premier global destination for leisure and business tourism – contributing to Lonely Planet naming Belfast as the best place to visit in 2018. Since 2012 the now iconic landmark Titanic Belfast has attracted over 6.5 million visitors across 145 countries, earning it the prestigious accolade of World’s Leading Visitor Attraction 2016 – World Travel Awards as well as Ireland’s first ever 5 star graded visitor experience. Other heritage attractions within Titanic Quarter include SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline, Thompson Dry Dock, The Great Light, Titanic Walkway and Titanic Slipways – which have been established as one of Belfast’s most sought after outdoor venues hosting events for MTV, BBC and the Giro d’Italia. The Titanic Exhibition Centre hosts major conference, sporting and lifestyle events with attendances of up to 20,000 per event.

Titanic Quarter in Numbers

  • £618 million invested to date
  • 12,000 jobs
  • £286m per annum in wages
  • 1.5 million sq ft completed
  • 3 million sq ft with planning permission
  • 20,000 people live, work, visit and stay in Titanic Quarter daily
  • 3.6m visitors per annum
  • 1,000 residents
  • Over 100 national and international organisations including Citi, Amazon, Microsoft,
    IBM, SAP, Belfast Metropolitan College, Catalyst Inc, Ulster University and
    Queen’s University Belfast already established in Titanic Quarter
  • Europe’s fastest direct fibre-optic links to North America
  • 5 minute drive to George Best Belfast City Airport and direct access to motorways

Belfast Harbour

Belfast Harbour is Northern Ireland’s leading gateway and key economic hub for trade and tourism, handling more than 70% of the region’s seaborne imports and exports. The 2,000-acre Harbour Estate hosts more than five million annual visits, including 1.5 million ferry and cruise ship passengers.

Belfast Harbour is home to a vibrant mix of 760 businesses working across multiple sectors, to include marine logistics and heavy engineering, commercial and residential real estate, retail, financial and IT services, tourism and leisure, media and creative industries.

As a Trust Port, Belfast Harbour reinvests its net earnings after tax in developing the Port and its Estate for the benefit of customers and the region.

The ongoing £250million 5-year investment programme in port infrastructure and real estate projects will help deliver Belfast Harbour’s vision to be an economic hub for the region, a world leading regional port, upholding the highest environmental standards and adopting innovative Smart technology and digital infrastructure. Working with key civic and community partners Belfast Harbour’s strategic ambition is to create a thriving and iconic waterfront for the City.