The Name:

Skainos (skã’ nõs) (Noun, Greek Origin)

1. Tent; 2. Presence, dwelling; 3. frailty, weakness, as of the human body.

The Skainos Project is a flagship redevelopment scheme on a brownfield site in the Ballymacarrett area of East Belfast.  When completed, the Skainos Project will be inclusive of the whole community, where people can gather, eat meals together, worship, and find help for health, employment, education, childcare, housing, and spiritual concerns.

Derived from a biblical Greek word and rooted firmly in Christian tradition and history, the name Skainos speaks of the importance of practical engagement with a community by figuratively pitching a tent in its midst, and it hints at the notion of hospitality and the extended family.  An alternative meaning for the word is as a description of the frailty of human beings. It stands therefore as a useful counterbalance to the temptation to focus solely on new buildings to the detriment of serving people.

The Skainos Project is about the future. It’s about meeting the present and prospective needs of this community.  It’s about building a partnership of public agencies, private bodies, community groups and church and harnessing that partnership for the benefit of East Belfast. It’s about integrating care and developmental support for children, families, young people, people who are homeless or unemployed, and the elderly. And it’s about providing shared space for people from all backgrounds and communities in East Belfast.

Concept

The Skainos Project is an urban regeneration project in inner East Belfast providing shared space for community transformation and renewal.

Central to the development is a new street in inner East Belfast, untouched by the history of the Troubles, with the capacity to be genuinely shared space. This civic square is capable of hosting open air events like concerts, farmer’s markets and christmas fairs, and will be overlooked by new, mixed tenure housing, thereby giving the square a living presence round the clock.

The Newtownards Road frontage of the development will feature new retail and commercial office space. Inside, and fronting to the square will be the work of East Belfast Mission, including youth and family services and counselling as well as a community hall and auditorium, and a cafe which spills onto the square.

The auditorium will serve as the worship space for the Methodist Congregation at East Belfast Mission.

East Belfast Mission and Oaklee Housing Association will also develop a replacement Hosford House catering for 26 people who find themselves homeless Elsewhere on the site Age NI and Belfast Metropolitan College will provide new services in care for older people and education.

EBM’s social economy programme will also operate a day nursery in the new development.

“Cutting of the Sod”

Social Development Minister Alex Attwood, cut the first sod of the Skainos Project on the 8th December 2010.

Alex Attwood said “This development will alleviate dereliction along a major arterial route providing a significant opportunity to reinvigorate and revive the area, delivering real change in one of Belfast’s most deprived areas. It will provide support to improvements to health and well being, and improve educational attainment within the wider East Belfast community whilst significantly addressing housing need. 

 "Importantly the construction phase will provide much needed jobs and training opportunities." 

Minister Attwood continued: “I would like to congratulate Skainos Limited, their partners and stakeholders on the start of the construction of such an ambitious and innovative project for East Belfast. The Skainos project is an example of how deprivation can be addressed and regeneration stimulated by bringing together the public, private and community sectors in a partnership approach.”

Rev Dr Gary Mason, Superintendent of East Belfast Mission and Chair of Skainos Ltd said: "This event marks the culmination of more than 10 years of work to bring Skainos to this point. We are delighted to be playing our part in the transformation and renewal of East Belfast and in the creation of new shared space for all communities here. The new facility will provide ideal space for organisations like East Belfast Mission to continue its vital work in the community" 

Skainos funder representatives Anne Henderson of the International Fund for Ireland and the Howard Keery of the EU Peace III Programme also attended the event alongside many local people and other friends of Skainos and EBM.

CONCEPT IMAGES