Take Back The City is an ambitious project for the former Mackies factory site in the heart of West Belfast to create new affordable homes and employment space. The project arose from a long-standing campaign by local people, supported by the human rights network Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR), and aims to create a viable and deliverable development masterplan for the site.

Matthew Lloyd Architects won an international design competition organised by PPR in 2022 to seek ideas for the redevelopment of the redundant site. The practice have since been engaged in the development of detailed masterplan proposals for the whole site in close collaboration with the Town and Country Planning Association and Belfast based Pragma Planning. See the project website

Proposals include various types of residential accommodation including general needs housing for rent, sheltered housing for senior citizens, ‘Co-living’ (flats for single people) and ‘Co-housing’ (co-operative housing), as well as shared ownership and homes for low-cost private sale. Overall, the project expects to provide homes for up to 2,000 people. Community and social uses such as a community centre, public square, cafés, a doctor’s surgery, a nursery, a local supermarket and small corner shops are spread across the site; employment and industrial uses are also proposed, equal to the quantum planned by the current landowner Invest Northern Ireland, including light industrial buildings for the creative industries, B1 offices, and artist studios.

Significant sustainable living initiatives include the planting of hundreds of new tress and a crafted urban landscape including a city farm, allotments, and extensive private and public green spaces. A hydroelectric power plant is proposed in the Forth River Valley whilst on-site renewable power generation will be maximised and homes will pursue a Passivhaus standard. A site-wide Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) will manage and enhance water management across the site, working with the unique topography. A new footbridge over the river valley will link to the Belfast City Council's recently completed Greenway cycle route, itself an urban parkway, with enhanced connectivity between communities within the site and out to the wider city at the core of the masterplan.