Plans for 36 new alley gates across East Belfast have been proposed to Belfast City Council..
Half a million pounds have been allocated to alley gates for the whole of the city this financial year, and while north, west and south have yet to go public, the Belfast City Council’s East Belfast Area Working Group have agreed a proposal for 36 locations. The majority of these are in lower Ravenhill and the Euston Street area.
26 are proposed for the Titanic District Electoral Area, while 10 are for the Lisnasharragh District Electoral Area - six at Cregagh and four at Rosetta. There were 132 requests in all for alley gates across the east of the city this year.
Read more: Belfast “very poor” on electric car charging, council told
Each gate costs around £2,500. There will be a statutory consultation process lasting around three months, with the full legislative process lasting from six to nine months.
Michelle Kelly, deputy Lord Mayor and Alliance Councillor for Titanic, made the original proposal for funding to reach half a million for the current round of alley gates. She said: “In the east the need is mostly in Titanic, which is unfortunately where most of the antisocial behaviour takes place.
“For some of the streets I was advocating, there were people literally drug dealing in the alleyways.
“There is a lot of talk about alleyway transformation, and how it can transform the open space people have if they are not lucky enough to have a garden. But the reality is that people can’t even begin to do that because it is just not safe for them to use the alleyway.
“So these gates will really allow them to do so much with that area. It goes beyond the safety aspect, because it now gives people the opportunity to use the space.”
She said: “People are just overjoyed that it is going to happen for them, because it will transform their area, there is no doubt about it.”
She added: “Nine Feet in Common have suggested alternatives to alley gates also, because the reality is that we just don’t have enough funding to give every area that needs alley gates, unfortunately. But for the real hot spot areas that have antisocial behaviour every night, this will transform lives.”
SDLP Councillor for Lisnasharragh Séamas de Faoite said: “I’m delighted to have secured cross-party agreement to include alleyways in Rosetta in the current phase of alleygating across the city, alongside Cregagh's Rainbow Alley. Residents that share access to the alleyways between Rosetta Park and Knockbreda Road and Knockbreda Park and the Ormeau Road have been subjected to years of anti-social and criminal behaviour taking place in the spaces behind their homes.
“These spaces should be safe and secure for people to make the most of them. I have been delighted to work alongside residents in cleaning up these alleys over the years but too often we were left to rely on the help of the council’s cleansing services to deal with the debris and detritus left behind by anti-social elements.
“I have campaigned alongside residents to make the strongest possible case for these two alleyways to be gated and I share their delight in securing cross-party agreement today. I was also delighted to support Rainbow Alley’s request for gates, where volunteers have demonstrated the potential of these incredible urban spaces to bring neighbours together.
“It is crucially important that the new Infrastructure Minister makes funding available to Belfast City Council from the alleyway transformation scheme. Gates are just one measure that can be used to overhaul these spaces. Residents need support to begin greening and enriching them.”
Below is the initial proposed list for East Belfast - this is subject to change during the legislative/consultation process. There are also a number of streets on a reserve list.
101-155 Rosebery Road
157-195 Rosebery Road
31-67 Ravenhill Avenue
4-74 Ravenhill Avenue
2-32 Toronto Street
2-32 and 1-37 Delaware Street
Jocelyn Street
Knockbreda Park/Ormeau Road
Knockbreda Park/Rosetta Park
1 - 35 Reid Street / 2 - 36 Glendower Street
37 - 77 Reid Street / 38 -74 Glendower Streety
READ NEXT:
Ormeau residents victory as council rejects 1am license for new £8m hotel on site of church
Belfast City Council looks into big investment plan for city parks
Belfast Bright Lights festival cancelled after public outcry
- Belfast Council warned of "crisis of confidence" in cleansing services as city labelled "dirty"
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
