Parties who let draft byelaws pass at committee last month have rejected them outright
Daft laws concerning buskers and street preaches in Belfast city centre will be reviewed after a number of parties changed their stance on the issue.
Councillors unanimously agreed new draft amenity byelaws last month at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, which would mean individuals in the city centre could be fined if they go over 70 decibels.
With no elected representatives at the meeting airing any direct dissent, the matter did not go to a vote, and it appeared the agreement would sail through ratification at full council, and would go to Stormont for the green light.
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READ MORE: New draft byelaws for Belfast City Centre will forbid buskers and preachers going above 70 decibels
However, at the full monthly Belfast City Council meeting on Monday (December 1), a number of parties aired outright rejection of the draft byelaws, and the chamber agreed the draft goes back to committee level, after an Alliance proposal which stated they “did not go far enough.” Both Alliance and the DUP, who at committee level did not reject the proposal, at the full council meeting aired throaty objections.
An Alliance representative at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee last month did express regret that the draft did not contain measures to counteract disturbing images being displayed, while an SDLP representative was unhappy that the PSNI were not using their powers to address hate speech and threatening behaviour by preachers and other public speakers and groups in the city centre. Neither party objected to the byelaws at this stage.
DUP Councillor Bradley Ferguson at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee last month thanked the City Solicitor for the draft byelaws, and added: “Quite a bit of work went into this and I know (we were) robust going through this. But it seems pretty balanced, and the way to go.”
The byelaws would have meant those going over 70 decibels would be fined up to £500 for an offence. The byelaws, if went to statute, would effectively end loud amplification for individuals in the city centre. Examples of 70 dB sound would be a noisy vacuum cleaner, a dishwasher, or a loud conversation.
The draft byelaws also contained provisions for the surrender of alcohol in designated places in the city centre. An earlier version of the draft byelaws had proposals that buskers, preachers and other public speakers would have to ask the council for a permit, but this proposal was dropped.
Alliance Councillor Jenna Maghie said on Monday at the full council: “Anyone who was at the (committee meeting) will know how much I struggled with what was put in front of us, because I didn’t feel they went far enough, and I was unsure they would be effective on amplification. And they don’t deal with graphic imagery at all.
“I’ve done more reflection, I’ve done more engagement, and I can’t support these (byelaws) being what we bring forward. Asking for the bare minimum to be approved, because that’s what we think we might get, isn’t good enough. It isn’t delivery for the people of this city and the visitors to it.”
She said: “The (committee) paper notes that “the display of graphic imagery and amplification can have a negative effect on social and economic activity.” I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it again and again: both are more than a negative impact, some are traumatising for people in our city, and that is not good enough.
“Some of you will have heard that someone who amplifies in the city centre that he won’t adhere to a decibel limit. I think that is an incongruous message with the one he wants to send out, but I think these byelaws don’t go far enough, and will be willingly flaunted by some. And when they are, the fines aren’t enough.”
She proposed the chamber did not support the draft byelaws, but instead “take them back and try to do better for the people of Belfast.”
DUP Alderman Dean McCullough said on Monday: “From the outset, these byelaws were driven by a desire to target certain groups, primarily street preachers and the pro-life witnesses. We heard references to so-called hate preachers, whatever that means, and we all sat through the debates on graphic imagery. We were told that showing the reality of abortion was too graphic.
“Yet (at the same time) a stained glass window in this very building contains images and indeed wording that many would view as provocative, confrontational or explicit.”
He added: “What utter folly on the part of some far left councillors to believe that street preachers, members of the most persecuted religion on earth, would ever seek or need their permission to preach. Jesus Christ is Lord. It is Christmas, and I don’t need a permit from this council to proclaim that.”
He said his party could not support a 70 decibel limit “that renders amplification effectively useless.”
People Before Profit Councillor Michael Collins said he would not support the byelaws “most worryingly” for the potential effect on political protest and rallies, which weren’t official pickets. Green Party Councillor Áine Groogan said the council had to “go back to basic principles” and have further consultation.
Councillors agreed for the draft byelaws to return to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.
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