An Alliance motion to canvas for removal of the interface wall had initially met with no objections but DUP Alderman Dean McCullough then stated his party would be against the proposal
The DUP has come out against taking down a peace wall that goes through a public park in North Belfast.
Last month the DUP showed no objection, and were party to, a unanimous decision at a Belfast City Council committee agreeing with an Alliance motion to consult locals and put pressure on Stormont to remove the interface wall at Alexandra Park, off Antrim Road and between Limestone Road and Alexandra Park Avenue.
However, at the more high profile monthly meeting of the full council held this week, DUP Alderman Dean McCullough vociferously proclaimed his party would be against the proposal. Despite this the matter did not go to a vote and the amended Alliance motion was passed.
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The wall has been up over 30 years, and is reportedly the only peace wall in Western Europe that goes through a public park. The park, which is owned and managed by Belfast Council, is seen as a hotspot for rioting, and has seen an increase in antisocial youth behaviour this year.
Councillors at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee last month unanimously agreed an original proposal by the Alliance Party, with an amendment from Sinn Féin. The original proposal, forwarded by Alliance Councillor Sam Nelson, states: “This council recognises the commitment laid out in the Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) strategy to remove all interface structures by 2023.
“It recognises that a failure to remove the interface barrier in Alexandra Park would be a missed opportunity, and commits to developing plans to ensure the complete removal of the interface structure as part of the “Reconnecting Waterworks and Alexandra Park” project.”
The motion calls for an officer report detailing plans for the removal, alongside a “programme of work with local stakeholders to establish support required to assist with the transition, including local detached youth and community relations provision, coinciding with significant investment in the park.” It also calls on the Stormont Department of Justice to identify any resources that can assist with the removal of the interface barrier through its Interface Programme.
A Sinn Féin amendment, forwarded by Councillor Ryan Murphy, was accepted by Alliance. It adds to the original motion, stating that the council “prioritises concerns of surrounding residents as regards the T:BUC strategy” and adds “the removal of barriers cannot proceed unless local residents’ views, perceptions and consent are sought.”
It goes on to say a report would be submitted to the committee detailing the wall’s removal “in the context of the overwhelming priority to include plans for local stakeholder and resident engagement and relevant statutory organisations and local community organisations.”
The amendment adds the council “recognises there is an acute sport and pitch provision need in the area” and the officer’s report would “reflect that as an opportunity to address the need in an overall process of investment and wall removal.” The report will also include detail regarding “the accompanying significant investment in the park.”
At the full council meeting this week, North Belfast Alliance Councillor Sam Nelson, who forwarded the original motion, told the chamber: “I welcome that at the committee we had cross-party support on this, and I thank parties for backing that and the amendment. I think that sends a really strong message out from this council.
“We are often criticised that we sow division through the politics in this place, but actually this is a chance for us to really take a lead, and show we are capable of bringing people together, and we are looking at ways to do that. You can be part of the problem or part of the solution.”
SDLP Councillor for Castle in North Belfast Carl Whyte said: “I don’t think anyone can disagree with the proposal or the sentiment about removing peace walls, but I was very surprised to see the proposal from the Alliance Party on social media, given that it is the Minister of Justice who actually owns the wall.”
He added: “We get regular updates from the police on the antisocial behaviour that is taking place, so it is nothing new to hear (at committee) that there are problems with removing the peace wall Alexandra Park.”
He said: “Nobody disagrees that peace walls should be removed, but I think before those proposals are made, work should be done by the department responsible, (that is) substantial work on the ground. Which there possibly has not been.”
He successfully proposed the council decision also includes a request for an estimation of the cost of removal of the wall to the Stormont Department of Justice, and a query as to how much the department would assist in that cost.
DUP Alderman Dean McCullough, who grew up beside the park, told the chamber: “This is one of the most ridiculous motions brought before this council, and that is saying something, given some of the bright ideas we have heard in here over the years.
“It comes clearly at a time of heightened tensions across North Belfast, and indeed anyone who checked their emails would be very aware of that. There has been an upsurge in interface areas, including Alexandra Park. Serious enough that gates have been closed early, emergency meetings have taken place, and I don’t know if the Alliance Party attended those.”
He said Alliance were “detached from local reality, resident sentiment and basic safety concerns.”
He added: “It is the residents living there who are left with the consequences. Residents who I represent, especially in the lower end of the park, are overwhelmingly opposed to removal at this time.” He asked Councillor Nelson to join him and door-knock on every household beside the lower end of the park to present the proposal.
He said: “You do not resolve interface issues by removing the very barrier that provides protection to the residents that live there. This isn’t a golf club or a bistro, we are talking about people’s lives and their basic safety.
“We cannot remove it and we have no business instructing anyone else to remove it. That decision belongs first and foremost with the residents, in partnership with the Department of Justice, the PSNI, the community and youth workers.”
He said: “North Belfast deserves seriousness, not grandstanding, it deserves facts not slogans, and above all it deserves safety. For those reasons I will oppose any attempt to predetermine the future of this peace wall, and I urge the council to base its decisions on community safety not political choreography.”
An investment of €13.5million in European Peaceplus funding is coming to Alexandra Park in Belfast as part of the Reconnected Belfast programme. It will be used to upgrade existing park features, and for new sports and recreation facilities such as a basketball court, as well as improving the connection between Alexandra Park and Waterworks.
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