Connecting the village to the forgotten Marina through the exploration of Edgelands

The small village of Belleek sits at the border between The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Through defining the hinterland of the village, I have discovered the opportunity to revitalise a forgotten by connecting the Marina to the main street through two additional sites. Marion Shoard, an English writer and campaigner, coined the term Edgeland in the year 2000 which defines the area found between countryside and town. She acknowledged the qualities these spaces hold and how they are often subject to new developments that hold no connection to their context.

These Edgelands are at risk: ‘We need to see the planner not as the shaper of an entire environment but as a handmaiden, who helps along a universe he or she does not seek to control.’ - Shoard With Belleek sitting on the border, it itself in a sense is an Edgeland, making this an even more important idea to explore. Over the last few years, a group of residents have formed the Belleek Development and Heritage Group to discuss ways in which the village could be improved.

This text is key to understanding the areas of potential and weakness within the village, and therefore was an important place to start. It was vital to view the document critically, but not necessarily in a negative way, as this will define the future development in the village. Through better understanding the context in which a site is used, you gain insight into the inherent qualities of the place. Instead of building over these, I aimed to incorporate them into the future development. This was done by intertwining the site aims from the Development guide with memories of how residents have used the sites through the years to connect the village to the Marina whilst not jeopardising the Edgeland qualities of the site. Flat-bottomed Lough Erne Cots with ‘rising ends’ were used by the people of the river Erne system for about one thousand years to transport both people and animals across the River Erne. As well as this, Cot racing was a popular event for hundreds of years attracting up to 30,000 people for annual Regattas. This tradition is continued to this day.

The Belleek Men’s Shed is a group of around 15 local men partaking in a plethora of activities with a focus on woodwork. Recently they recreated 2 traditional cots and celebrated the tradition of cot racing with the Belleek Regatta in 2022. I proposed situating the new Men’s shed workshop in the Marina to further connect the art of woodwork to the natural environment as well as its heritage.