Belfast’s most recent park is to receive an outdoor entertainments licence to host events.
Belfast City Council, which owns Páirc Nua Chollann on Stewartstown Road in the southwest Colin area of the city, granted permission for a seven day annual outdoor entertainments licence at the park, at the Licensing Committee in City Hall this week.
The £5.6 park, which was finished last summer, is described by the council as “a community event space including an outdoor gym, an education zone, a cycle ‘pump track’ and walking and cycling routes.”
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The standard days and hours for an outdoor entertainments licence are Monday to Sunday, 11.30am to 11.00pm. The council states special conditions are attached to outdoor entertainments licences “related to setting limits on maximum numbers and implementing a robust system of dealing with complaints.”
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and police service were consulted in relation to the application and both confirmed they had no objections to the application.
The council states in its Licensing report: “Officers will engage with the applicant and event organisers in the lead up to future events to ensure all documentation and technical information is in place. Additionally, officers will inspect the site during the build of the event space and following its completion to ensure they are satisfied all safety and management procedures are in place.
“All event organisers seeking to host musical entertainment at the event space will be required to provide a noise management plan which will be provided to the Environmental Protection Unit for evaluation. Council officers will work with the promoter in order to assess the noise that may be generated from the event and to minimise the potential for noise disturbance.
“Members should also recognise that noise generated by outdoor concerts is likely to lead to some level of disturbance for local residents. Even if guideline levels are met there is no guarantee that complaints will not be received.
“Conversely, if a recommended level is exceeded this may not necessarily lead to complaints as people may be prepared to tolerate the event because it will only last for a limited period of time.”
Despite high praise and commendation for the park after its opening the area has been recently blighted by reports of antisocial behaviour. The police were called to Páirc Nua Chollann earlier this week after reports of youths throwing stones at cars, and equipment within the park was later damaged. Youth workers have said that recent antisocial behaviour in the Colin area is a result of cuts to funding for youth providers.
Last year the public was consulted over the naming of the park, with locals voting for the full Irish translation Páirc Nua Chollann. It received 317 responses, and accounted for 42.4 percent of the public vote. It replaced a previous option, the English/Irish hybrid “Páirc Nua Colin.”
Other options were “Leap of Faith Park” with 23.8 percent, “Sherwood Park,” with 12.7 percent, and “Colin New Park,” with 5.4 percent.
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