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From UDA meetings and ‘Ulster Says No’ to pizza slices and craft beer, the changing face of east Belfast’s Newtownards Road
The Newtownards Road in east Belfast is somewhere I knew well at an earlier stage in my journalistic career, and it would be fair to say that back then it was a place with a particular reputation.
Symbols of loyalism were everywhere, outsiders were regarded with open suspicion and for some decades the suggestion that any casual visitor might casually drop in for a coffee, a beer or something to eat was unlikely to arise.
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I was on the Newtownards Road on a recent Friday night, and it is plainly a neighbourhood which has already undergone a transformation and is in the process of evolving still further.
There are still plenty of loyalist flags and murals around, as well as occasional episodes of upheaval, including over the last few days, but the overall atmosphere is unrecognisable and people from all parts of the city and beyond are supporting the many new businesses which are springing up.
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