Former Strand Spinning Mill to receive over £200,000 in National Lottery funding

Members of the public are being asked to share their stories of what was once the largest flax spinning mill in the world amid plans to develop and maintain the heritage of the east Belfast site.

Portview Trade Centre, on the Newtonards Road in the city, was once a thriving industrial hub.

Marrying traditional skills with technologies that were world-leading and very advanced for their time, the Mill  also led the way in regard to social issues such as employment for women.

Currently, the site of the former Strand Spinning Mill is half occupied, while the rest remains in a state of disrepair.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund recently granted over £200,000 to the site in a bid to bring jobs to the area and boost the local economy.

The proposals include an urban rooftop park for agricultural and tourism purposes, as well as designated art and cultural spaces.

The hope is to return it to the industrial and cultural hub it once was.

People living in the area are being asked to help by sharing their stories of the site in bygone days.

Anyone with a story to tell or idea can get in touch and help shape the transformation of the former Mill to secure its future.

Portview Trade Centre Chairman Brendan Mackin said the National Lottery Heritage Fund award would not only secure the site’s heritage but also transform East Belfast into a vibrant tourism, business, education and training hub. 

“The Strand Spinning Mill is steeped in Belfast’s industrial heritage and it is vital that we retain this and develop it for a modern-day audience, so we are delighted to receive this National Lottery funding.

“The site’s current half-occupied state has come about in a very ad hoc and unstructured manner and is now at a critical turning point, with its heritage at risk and in need of supporting intervention to sustain its future.  So this significant award of money from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is vitally important to help us grow the site and achieve our long-term goals.

“To do this, the Centre needs to be sustainable which we believe is achievable by developing the site, bringing the buildings into full occupation and creating an innovative hub for tourism, business, education and training – while at the same time celebrating, conserving and connecting people to the rich heritage of the building’s past.

“So, as well as preserving and maintaining the heritage of the Mill, we believe that the development of Portview Trade Centre will play a transformative role in the community by providing support, employment, education and training, and facilities – particularly to groups suffering from social and economic disadvantage,” he added.

Paul Mullan, Director NI, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “We were delighted to support this resilience project, seeking to explore the historic value and potential of the historic mill complex. 

“This exploratory phase will develop an overarching masterplan for the future of the site, whilst exploring the associated spinning memoires and intangible heritage.  The co-creation approach offers great potential to meet our strategic outcome of engaging a wider range of people with heritage – connecting people to the rich industrial heritage of the past, whilst bringing its relevance into modern day”. 

Barbara McCann went along to find out more: