A sign saying not much more than “Invest NI Property, Trespassers will be Prosecuted” is about all there is to show for the once proposed 600 new jobs and industrial units for the old Mackies site.  Six years on from the announcement, the people of north and west Belfast are still waiting for this area to be developed into a job creation zone once again.

Cllr. Smyth is appalled at the lack of action and will be raising it with the Ministers in question: “I warned at the time that the people of the Greater Shankill and West Belfast would watch this situation carefully. Now almost six years on what have we got? Unemployment is still at similar levels, no jobs have been forthcoming and apart from the demolition of the old buildings and the building of the road all that has been erected is this ‘No Trespassing sign.’ I think it is disgusting that once again people have been made false promises. I and my colleague Cllr. Frank McCoubrey will be raising this with the appropriate Ministers at the Executive and we will not give up until we see some action on this site.”

Photo: courtesy of the shankillmirror.com