Belfast City Council 'in danger of breaking discrimination law' by demanding everyone in building be 'compatible' with LGBTQIA+ Hub

The Free Speech Union and the Women’s Rights Network in Northern Ireland have both expressed concerns about a condition the council has placed on any groups seeking to use the same building as the hub.

The Women’s Rights Network NI said this condition “effectively excludes” groups with “sex realist views” (meaning views which conflict with those of transgender activists), while leader of the Free Speech Union Toby Young said it opens the council up to a “slam dunk” lawsuit on grounds of discrimination.

When these points were put to the council, it declined to comment.

It also confirmed that the creation of the hub is now about one year away.

The LGBTQIA+ Hub will provide a new home for three publicly-funded groups which are involved in trans activism, and will be located on the first floor of the listed council-owned 2 Royal Avenue building (which stands next to Primark in the heart of the city centre’s main shopping area).

The council last month put out a call for expressions of interest from groups wanting to use the ground floor.

One of the caveats is that “the long-term use should be complementary and compatible with the LGBTQIA+ Hub proposed for the first floor”.

Now questions have been raised about the legality of this “complementary and compatible” demand, with the Women’s Rights Network NI saying that it amounts to “attaching ideological conditions to the use of a public building”.

“By requiring any ground‑floor tenant to be ‘complementary and compatible’ with an LGBTQIA+ Hub, the council is effectively excluding feminist, safeguarding, and faith‑based groups whose sex realist views are fully lawful and protected under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998,” it said in a statement to the News Letter.

“Public authorities have a duty to remain neutral, and no community group should be barred from even applying for public space because they hold a different, but entirely legitimate, belief.”

Lord Young said that it is “probably” unlawful, adding: “If Belfast Council is granting LGBTQIA+ activists a veto over what groups are allowed to use the ground floor, that is a clear breach of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which imposes a duty on public authorities not to discriminate against service users on the basis of their protected religious and philosophical beliefs, which includes the view that transwomen aren't women and marriage should be between a man and a woman.

“If a Christian group applies to use the ground floor and is vetoed by the woke groups on the first floor, it would have a slam dunk legal case for unlawful discrimination.”

When this was put to the council, it said it has “nothing to add”.

On the question of how many expressions of interest there have been in using the ground floor, the council said this process is ongoing so “it would not be appropriate to release this information”.

Asked if the rent it will get from the LGBTQIA+ groups using the hub will be equivalent to what it would expect to receive from a commercial tenant for the city centre building, it said: “Rent levels have not yet been decided.”

It also said the hub should be complete by “early 2027”.

Asked if there was a particular, definitive point at which the council had decided it was creating the LGBTQIA+ Hub, the council pointed the News Letter to a meeting of its strategic policy and resources committee on August 18, 2023.

Its minutes show that the cross-party committee “agreed that council officers continue to develop the proposals”.