Councillor proposed animation on the Pride route six years ago
A Sinn Féin local representative has accused Belfast Council officials of “corporately blocking” proposals for LGBTQ+ street and road animation in a part of the city centre.
Sinn Féin Councillor Matt Garrett said in a committee meeting that the council had actively blocked a motion he had forwarded six years ago. The motion called on the council to create permanent Rainbow Pride themed animation along the Pride parade route, “including, but not limited to, pedestrian crossing points and public realm points along the route.”
Councillor Garrett said council officials had contacted him to say the motion would be “closed” despite no work having been done.
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The council officer report on the matter states: “Guidance released by the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee raised concerns regarding colourful crossings, indicating that they may pose hazards for some disabled individuals and older people.
“Since then the council has made a significant contribution to support the Pride event and the LGBTQ+ community. Given the actions already taken and the guidance provided by IMTAC, it is recommended that this motion is closed.”
At the September meeting of the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Garrett said: “I proposed this motion in 2019, six years ago, and we are waiting for any movement on it.
“I am reading in the report the issues raised by the (inclusive mobility) sector – I met the sector, as did Alliance, and they absolutely weren’t opposed to this being done. What they did ask was for co-design, to be part of a process. While they have overall concerns about for instance visibility, they certainly weren’t against it.
“A very cursory look at where this happens elsewhere shows Dublin has crossings, Wicklow has crossings, Derry and Strabane have crossings. Over in England, London has multiple boroughs with crossings, Nottingham, Oxford, Guildford, Brighton. In Europe, Paris, Vienna, the Netherlands.”
He added: “My frustration at not getting this done by the council led us to engage with the MP for West Belfast, who engaged with the Kennedy Centre, and put it (a crossing) in there. And there hasn’t been one complaint about it.
“So I don’t know what the issue is here. If the council just does not want to do it, they should say so. But this for me is a corporate blockage of democratically elected members who wanted to bring something forward that they believed would help animate (the area) and make the city more vibrant, and support the LGBTQ+ community.”
He said the council attitude was that the it “did Pride so therefore we have done enough.” He added: “The motion very clearly recognises the huge contribution (of the LGBTQ+ community), and in the second paragraph it aims to build on what we were already doing. I don’t think that there is a willingness to move this on.
“One of the directors, who no longer even works for this council, had told me whenever I challenged him about it that they would get some animation. It never happened.
“Let’s be serious about this. If there is an issue or difficulty, the officers that are charged with it, allow them to sit down with the proposer of the motion and go over the issues.”
He said: “I received an email at 11am this morning, while we were sitting in this committee, from an officer in this council saying this is coming forward to a committee and we are closing it, more or less. This is just not good enough.
“I know in the grand scheme of things this is small, but it is just a wee example of how things in my view, corporately, are being held back against the democratic wishes of members of this council. And that needs to be rectified.”
The committee voted to keep the Pride animation motion open, and also to commiission a report into the pedestrianisation of Union Street, which was proposed by SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite.
Councillor de Faoite said at the meeting: “What you have is a space where people who are in the venues in that street are quite often having to duck and dive out of the way of taxis, particularly in the late evening hours. I would like to see some update as to where the pedestrianisation of Union Street stands as part of that. We want to see that street safe.”
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