Belfast Historic Waterfront
One of Belfast’s most significant assets is the River Lagan and its story. This is where Belfast began and where the City’s future is being reshaped. Belfast has been a working port for over 300 years, once home to the world’s largest shipyard, and today welcoming millions of visitors annually. With over 10km of interconnected waterfront promenade, Belfast Historic Waterfront is a vibrant place filled with heritage, nature and regeneration.
Maritime Belfast Trust and the Waterfront Task Group have a bold vision to protect and promote Belfast’s rich maritime heritage, highlighting the area’s potential for strategic investment and cultural transformation. From the historic Clarendon Dry Dock to the iconic Titanic Slipways, the waterfront is steeped in industrial heritage, bounded by neighbourhood custodians including Sailortown, Eastside and Lower Ormeau. Landmarks like Titanic Belfast, the former Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices now Titanic Hotel Belfast, and SS Nomadic offer immersive experiences that connect visitors to Belfast’s shipbuilding past. With 118 tangible and intangible heritage sites identified in the Maritime Belfast Story Plan, Maritime Belfast Trust’s vision builds on this momentum, aiming to unlock further opportunities for preservation, storytelling and community engagement to create a world class, sustainable waterfront for everyone.
Belfast Historic Waterfront as a Heritage Place
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is investing up to £200million in places across the UK to put heritage at the centre of local approaches that improve people’s connection to where they live, work and visit. It responds to an evolving strategic context which recognises that place-based regeneration, inclusive economic growth, boosting pride in place, and heritage and cultural engagement are increasingly important components of public policy.
In October 2025, the Belfast Historic Waterfront was designated a Heritage Place, one of only two in Northern Ireland and among just 15 across the UK. This recognition builds on the aspirations of the Waterfront Promenade Framework and the narrative of the Maritime Belfast Story Plan, highlighting the waterfront’s historic importance in shaping Belfast’s development and identity.
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