Why is water holding up a social housing project?

Social housing plans at a north Belfast peaceline have stalled because of "water connection issues," Stormont's communities department has said.

The regeneration project, announced two years ago, aims to transform a contentious bonfire site at an interface between the Tiger's Bay and New Lodge areas.

After some years of no bonfire being built, wooden pallets have recently returned to the disused Adam Street site.

Stormont's communities department said it wants to deliver the housing "as soon as possible", while the infrastructure department said efforts were continuing "in the hope of finding a solution".

Northern Ireland's water system has long been a focus of concern, with campaigners warning that underfunding is holding back housebuilding and contributing to pollution.

A housing association was appointed by the Department for Communities (DfC) to redevelop the site in April 2024

The Stormont department said delays "are due to water connection issues and the site's location within a closed catchment area".

Officials are also considering an "alternative redevelopment approach" proposed in January this year by a business centre on a neighbouring site.

"The department's overall redevelopment ambitions to deliver housing on the site as soon as possible remain unchanged," a DfC spokesperson added.

NI Water said the site off Duncairn Gardens "is in a constrained area due to sewer capacity".

A spokesperson said the developer was "engaging with NI Water through the wastewater impact assessment process to find a solution that will permit this development".

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the official opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly, accused Stormont ministers of a "failure to provide proper funding" for NI Water.

The party's north Belfast councillor Carl Whyte said it "means that the future of this scheme, which is located on an interface area and in an area of great housing need, is now in grave doubt".

He added the return of bonfire materials "has the potential to cause disruption for local residents after a period where there was no bonfire on this site".

Paul McErlean, director of the lobby group Build Homes NI, said the "crisis in Northern Ireland's sewage system isn't an abstract problem".

"It's undermining communities and stopping people from getting badly needed housing," he added.

"We urge the executive to bring forward a credible long-term solution to address the £2bn funding gap facing NI Water."

Much of Northern Ireland's wastewater infrastructure is ageing and needs upgraded.

It means there are more than 100 towns and villages where the system is operating near or above capacity and cannot accommodate any additional wastewater connections.

Stormont parties are opposed to direct consumer charges for water, as happens in the rest of the UK.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said the minister, Liz Kimmins, remained "focused on finding solutions to unlock capacity and has been clear that funding is not the only answer".

A spokesperson said this year NI Water "has received 92% of what they needed to operate which amounts to over £500m of public money".

"The minister continues to work with others to identify projects to unlock wastewater infrastructure capacity and water connections to support additional social housing," they added.

On the Adam Street proposals, the spokesperson said: "NI Water is engaging with the developer through the wastewater impact assessment process in the hope of finding a solution to permit this development to connect to the local wastewater infrastructure."

Hundreds of bonfires are lit annually in unionist communities across Northern Ireland to usher in the Twelfth of July, the main date in the parading season.

In 2021, nationalist politicians called for the Adam Street bonfire to be removed, saying that residents in the neighbouring New Lodge had felt "under attack".

Unionist politicians argued the bonfire was an expression of culture and accused nationalist leaders of raising tensions.

A High Court bid by two Stormont ministers to compel police to help remove the bonfire failed after officers warned it would risk disorder.

A judge later cast doubt on bonfires continuing at the site in the absence of future agreement.