Arts consultant Amberlea Neely and architect Aisling Rusk are on a mission to re-imagine Belfast's residential alleyways. Originally built over a century ago to allow access for coal deliveries, sewage systems and bin collections behind the city's high-density red-brick terraces, the alleys became neglected and derelict - spaces for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour. In recent years, residents of some streets have got together and turned their back entries, as they are often known, into pleasant lanes, festooned with flowers and used for neighbourhood parties and even arts events. The movement grew during the Covid lockdowns when people became aware of the value of the fresh air in the open spaces just beyond their back doors.
There have been similar alleyway greening transformations in other British cities, like Manchester and Liverpool, but Amberlea and Aisling have a more ambitious vision. They're campaigning for these hidden thoroughfares to become a vital part of Belfast's green infrastructure - safe play areas and traffic-free walking and cycling routes. They set up a project called "9ft in Common" – the average width of a typical Belfast alleyway - and spent months walking the city's entries to draw up a digital map of the network.
In this unlikely setting for Open Country, Helen Mark explores the momentum behind the movement. She talks to Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland about planting apple “orchards” in the alleyways and giving residents horticultural advice. She visits Wildflower Alley, one of the city's first and most successful neighbourhood projects, which now features in tourist trails, and hears from residents about what these once neglected spaces now mean to them.
Presented by Helen Mark and produced by Kathleen Carragher