DUP fails to get 28 day survey time, even with Alliance support
An attempt by the DUP to extend the survey period for residents in Belfast streets where a dual language street sign has been proposed has failed, despite support from Alliance.
In March 2023 Belfast City Council agreed to reduce the response times for dual language surveys to 14 days, a reduction from 28 days. At the full council meeting in October, the chamber by a narrow margin voted against a DUP proposal to extend the survey time to 28 days, instead opting for 21.
In summer this year, the council conducted an investigation into a hold-up by Royal Mail of hundreds of resident responses to Irish dual language street sign surveys over the summer.
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Royal Mail second class postal services changed their delivery schedules in July, which included discontinuing Saturday deliveries and implementing a weekday rotation schedule. Council officers identified 20 streets which were impacted by the issue, and all had to be resurveyed.
The officer report gave a recommendation to change the survey period. It states: “given the reduced delivery schedules 14 days may now not be sufficient to allow all residents to have their preferences lodged within time. Members are asked to consider the proposal to increase this time period to 21 days for all surveys moving forward, which officers believe will have minimal impact on the processing of applications and should not create any delays.”
At the October meeting of the full council DUP Councillor Ruth Brooks proposed returning the survey period to the original 28 days.
She said at the meeting: “The DUP wants to record its disappointment that 3,000 homes, including Victoria Road in Sydenham in my own constituency, are having to be resurveyed again because of a council and Royal Mail misunderstanding.
“In the report we were advised the Royal Mail second class service has now changed from the summer, meaning there is no longer a Saturday service and in Week One letters are delivered Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and on Week Two, on a Tuesday and Thursday.
“In the report there was a recognition to expand the timeframe to allow more constituents to respond, to change from 14 days to 21. I want to propose that we move that back to 28 days – I think that gives a realistic chance for constituents to respond.
“Some of our constituents work night shifts, some have extra support that they need. This (would be ) consistent with most standard bodies. It isn’t going to affect the timeframe of delivery, or non-delivery, of signs, but it will build back trust, and I don’t understand why such a proposal would be turned down. Particularly when it doesn’t have an impact, it just gives more time for people to get the letter posted.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “Here we go again, another attack on the Irish language. It is another tactic to delay.”
He added: “The street signs have been a huge success. There have been hundreds and hundreds of street signs put across the city, and very little complaints for any of them, bar from the DUP of course.
“When you look at the data, the non-respondents are not counted. The DUP seem to want to go back to 10 years ago, when non-respondents were counted as a no.
“When you go into the data and see who supports and who doesn’t, there is overwhelming support for street signs. Stop including non-respondents.”
DUP Councillor Sara Bunting said: “A survey through the Belfast Telegraph stated only 12 percent of residents actually agreed with the street sign policy. It is also quite clear a lot of those signs that are being approved, even those in hardline nationalist areas, are being approved with a very small percentage above the 15 percent.
“We have to be very clear on this, this is about fairness, for people to be able to actually return on the consultations.”
Alliance Councillor Jenna Maghie said: ““It came to the committee last month that Royal Mail had changed how they do their post. Again. It made sense for us to go to 21 days. I am in favour of consultation, I am in favour of making it easy for us to hear what the people of this city think, and we should make it easy for them to take part.” She added that the council “should try 28.”
On a vote, 28 councillors were in support of 28 days, from the unionist parties and Alliance, while 30 were against, from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit.
In 2022 councillors agreed a new policy on dual language street signs would finally be implemented – 18 months after the policy was originally given the go-ahead in the chamber. Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and the People Before Profit Party all supported the new street sign policy, while all the unionist parties were against it.
The new policy means at least one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor, is all that is required to trigger a consultation on a second nameplate, with 15 percent in favour being sufficient to erect the sign. Non-responses will no longer be counted as “against” votes, and there will be an equality assessment for each application.
Before that, the policy required 33.3 percent of the eligible electorate in any Belfast street to sign a petition to begin the process, and 66.6 percent to agree to the new dual language sign on the street.
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