An application for Irish language street signs at a prestigious address in the Malone area of south Belfast has not been approved, despite passing criteria.
Elected representatives at a Belfast City Council committee agreed to put an application for a dual language street sign including Irish and English at Malone Valley Park, BT9 ”to the back of the queue” and be considered at a later date if the application is remade. It will not go ahead at this time, despite meeting the 15 percent occupier approval threshold.
Councillors made the decision at the city hall People and Communities Committee this week after it emerged that in the survey made after the request 12 occupiers (15 percent) in the street were in favour of the erection of a second street name plate, while 13 occupiers (16.25 percent) were not in favour, and three occupiers (3.75 percent) had no preference either way.
Twelve other streets were approved for new Irish dual language street signs at the committee.
In 2022, councillors agreed a new policy on dual language street signs. Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and the People Before Profit Party all support the new street sign policy, while the three unionist parties, the DUP, UUP and PUP, are 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.
Since the new policy was delivered several streets have faced the same fate as Malone Valley Park, by meeting the erection threshold but at the same time facing greater opposition by local occupiers.
At the People and Communities Committee meeting this week, DUPcouncillor Sarah Bunting said: “It is no surprise I raise Malone Valley Park. Again we have a survey here where more occupiers are not in favour of a second name plate than are in favour.
“This is a really mixed area, very settled. I have to highlight again there are issues within this policy. I would ask this to be put to the back of the queue, and be reviewed. I believe there is a report coming soon about how we look at these in the future.”
A council officer said: “There will be a report coming to the next People and Communities Committee about the deferral mechanism, because there was a request from the council about how we agree that, and how we look at good practice elsewhere. All those ones at the back of the queue, you will be able to agree on the mechanism, or look to determine the applications. We can consider that next time.”