Malone Road Irish street sign application put to 'back of queue'

Belfast Council has put another application for Irish street signs at a South Belfast street to the 'back of the queue', despite reaching the threshold for residential approval.

Elected representatives at a Belfast City Council committee meeting this week were asked to consider nine applications for dual language street signs at nine streets, and approved all but one - an application for Marlborough Park North, BT9. The street runs between Lisburn Road and Malone Road.

The nationalist parties Sinn Féin and SDLP acceded to a DUP proposal to not include Marlborough Park North in this month’s tranche of streets to receive dual language street signs. They agreed for it to be put “to the back of the queue” - that is, to be reviewed again after the council gets through its significant current backlog of Irish language street sign applications.

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Last month the same happened with an application for Wellington Park Terrace in the BT9 area.

153 people were surveyed in Marlborough Park North. 33 occupiers (21.56 percent) were in favour of the erection of a second street name plate in Irish, while 39 occupiers (25.49 percent) were not in favour and four occupiers (2.61 percent) had no preference either way.

In relation to the Marlborough Park North application, the council report said: “One resident is not in favour of the erection of a second street name plate as they are concerned about the cost.”

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.

The other streets that were agreed for Irish signage at this month's People and Community Committee at City Hall were Glenveagh Drive BT11, Glenbawn Link BT17, Mount Eagles Grove BT17, Knutsford Drive BT14, Mill Valley Lodge BT14, Rosapenna Drive BT14, Hawthorn Glen BT17 and Brenda Park BT11.

The cost for all nine signs was approximately £2,790 to cover the cost of the manufacturing and erection of the dual language street signs. This will be reduced with Marlborough Park North being dropped.

At the committee meeting, DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting told the chamber: “I know we have had a conversation about what to do potentially in the future where there are in these streets more that don’t want it.

"I know some want them to come back again, but I propose we don’t move forward with Marlborough Park North at this point, and it comes back with those other applications put to the back of the queue.”

A row over Irish language signage erupted at the November full meeting of the council after parties disagreed how to deal with street applications that go back of queue after passing the threshold but facing more responses in opposition.

Elected members voted to return the decision to not have Irish language street signs at Wellington Park Terrace, BT9, which runs between Eglantine Avenue and Wellington Park, off Malone Road in South Belfast.

A Sinn Féin proposition, to return the decision back to committee level with a view to looking at “best international practice” for instances where voting thresholds are passed, was successful. The vote saw 41 in favour from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, Greens and People Before Profit, and 16 against from the unionist parties.

At the council meeting Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “We need clarity on this, because what is 'the back of the queue'? What happens when we get to the back of the queue?

"That is why we are suggesting we look at international best practice. We are not asking for this decision to be overturned tonight. Because there are a number of these coming up quite regularly now, and we need to look at a process.”

DUP Alderman Dean McCullough said: “When we talk about the back of the queue, why doesn't Sinn Féin just be honest and say 'We’ll keep surveying your street until we get the result we want'.”

Alliance Councillor Michael Long said: “To be absolutely clear, when we don’t say no and put it to the back of the queue to be looked at again, if people say no again, then I would say put it to the back of the queue again, and then we look at it again - that will be a long time down the line.

“But I do think it is fair to look to see what the outcome is when we look at what is best practice elsewhere.”

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