Belfast City Council rejects Sinn Fein bonfire plan - accepts Alliance amendment

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Proposals to introduce new regulations around the erection of bonfires on public land in Belfast have not been adopted by the city council.

Unionists accused Sinn Fein of attempting to “undermine” their culture by introducing the motion, during a debate at Belfast City Council.

Instead, councillors backed an amendment brought by the Alliance Party that a review would be carried out of the 2021 bonfire season.

The Sinn Fein motion, which was also backed by the SDLP, would have set a number of conditions for a bonfire application, including the requirement for public liability insurance and a risk assessment to be carried out by the PSNI, fire service and council.

The proposal also stated that permission should be requested by “a constituted organisation” and there should be a commitment to ensure no burning of any toxic materials.

Sinn Fein councillor Ciaran Beattie told the meeting: “There is no fence to sit on tonight. The decision in front of us for all members of this council is clear.

“You either stand on the side of law-abiding citizens of our city or you stand on the side of those who break the law by burning toxic bonfires in our parks.

“You either stand on the side of those who rightly are concerned about the environment, or you stand on the side of those who burn toxic waste.

“You either stand on the side of those whose homes are boarded up, particularly around July, who have to be evacuated from their homes, who have to have their homes hosed down by the fire service; or you stand on the side of those who build illegal bonfires. That is the clear choice.”

The Alliance Party amendment said the council would conduct an immediate review of the 2021 bonfire season. It also said the council would write to Stormont’s Executive Office asking for a long-delayed report on flags, identity, culture and tradition to be published.

Alliance councillor Michael Long told the meeting that the Sinn Fein motion was “not workable”.

He added: “We want to get a more informed position. We need to get the data from 2021, we need to speak to all of the statutory agencies, we need speak to bonfire builders, we need to speak to those in communities that have been affected.

“We need to learn from it, but we need to learn from it together. What I want to see is us working together to get solutions.

“We need this to be inclusive. The problem is this seems to be just a cynical, simplistic answer from Sinn Fein.”

PUP councillor John Kyle said: “The Sinn Fein motion is unnecessary, it is counter-productive and it is unenforceable.

“Why do we have this motion? It is a further attempt by Sinn Fein to suppress and undermine unionist culture. There can be no other explanation for it.”

The Alliance amendment – which was backed by the DUP, UUP, PUP and Green Party – passed by 33 votes to 26.

Bonfires are traditionally lit in loyalist areas on the “Eleventh Night” in July, and while the majority pass off each year without incident, some remain the source of community tension.

Earlier this year, two Stormont ministers failed in a legal bid to force police to assist in removing a contentious loyalist bonfire in north Belfast.

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