Mixed social housing has come to be seen as the ideal use for derelict land along interfaces. This is a noble vision and is usually the preference of communities on either side.

However, it means building the form of housing most vulnerable to intimidation in the most vulnerable locations.

Defending these neighbourhoods requires a commitment to law enforcement the authorities are unable or unwilling to provide.

When paramilitaries are involved, the PSNI tells the victims to leave or advises it cannot guarantee their safety, as has happened in Annalee Street and Alloa Street in north Belfast, following threats from the UDA.

£16,000 Florida trip offers little comfort to weary SEN families - The Irish News view

Newton Emerson: Could better housing design help end intimidation at interfaces?

The wider Girdwood area has been plagued for years by sectarian confrontations between gangs of youths, with community workers left to pick up the pieces.

Another future for the area would have been possible had Belfast City Council’s 2023 planning policy been in place when the former Girdwood Barracks site was redeveloped.

The council now requires at least one-fifth of all........

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