DUP and TUV back Jamie Bryson's judicial review over Belfast City Council's decision to remove bonfire
DUP and TUV councillors on Belfast City Council have backed a judicial review lodged by the loyalist Jamie Bryson on the legality of the authority’s action over an Eleventh night bonfire in the south of the city.
The review was expected to take place yesterday, with just over 24 hours to go before the fire was expected to be lit.
Nationalist councillors voted on Wednesday to remove the bonfire – citing concerns about electricity infrastructure and nearby asbestos on the derelict ground.
But because of a decision to set aside normal council procedures on the grounds of public safety, unionists were unable to use the call-in motion to have the decision reviewed.
Mr Bryson has described the process used by the council to remove the pyre as an “unlawful attempt” to remove minority protections used by local authorities – known as a call-in motion.
He said this was an “effort to deprive unionists the opportunity to challenge the controversial and inflammatory decision to target the Village bonfire”.
Belfast City Council said it was acting in accordance with its standing orders – which provide for such actions in instances where an inability to immediately implement a decision would prevent the council from responding to an emergency, as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
The challenge – now backed by two of the unionist parties on the council – focuses specifically on the chief executive’s decision to prevent the application of the call-in process, stopping unionist councillors from being able to ‘call-in’ the decision on procedural and community impact grounds.
Yesterday morning, DUP councillors submitted a call-in motion on the decision – saying it was a political decision, not a health and safety one.
In a statement, the DUP councillors said: “This action has been taken in line with our rights under the Council’s Standing Orders and the Local Government Act (NI) 2014. The decision to remove the bonfire was made without adequate consultation or consideration of community impact, and we believe it requires further scrutiny.”
Describing the council’s decision as “foolhardy” – they said it had “ramped tensions up in an area which has suffered considerably from interface problems” – they said work to reduce these problems over the last year had been damaged by “this debacle”.
The statement continued: “The decision was not made because of recommendations from the statutory bodies. We call on the chief executive to accept the call in of the decision made by the DUP and will be supporting the judicial review of the current position.
“We are standing up for the voices of local residents who feel ignored and disrespected by this heavy-handed approach.
“Our position is clear: cultural expression should be supported and managed in partnership with communities – not overridden by unilateral decisions.
“We will continue to engage with the community and stand up for their right to be heard.”
TUV councillor Ron McDowell said the council’s decision rests on the argument that an inability to immediately implement the decision would result at a breach of statutory or contractual duty, or would otherwise prevent the council from responding to an emergency, as defined in the 2004 civil contingencies law.
He told the News Letter: “If you're going to have a decision around a fire, you would expect the fire service to be involved in community safety. You'd expect the police to be involved in the decision.
“If it's around the asbestos on the site, you would expect that the health agencies would be involved, and none of that happened.
“Basically, what you had was ... a partisan decision made along orange and green lines in council. And quite simply, the benches outvoted the unionists on the committee, and there's no come back to the to the decision.”
Mr McDowell said what was being witnessed over the bonfire was the “very public fallout” of what happens behind doors in city hall on a daily basis.
“The bonfires aren't put up to annoy nationalists. The bonfires aren't put up to antagonise nationalism or Catholic communities. These are done by our communities, for the benefit of our communities, for the enjoyment of our communities. And what we've seen is that this has fallen down on orange and green lines,” he said.
Belfast City Council said in a statement: “The council has received correspondence in relation to yesterday’s decision by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.
“Elected members were advised at the start of yesterday’s meeting that any decision in relation to the bonfire at Broadway Industrial Estate would not be subject to call-in.
“This is in accordance with Standing Order 48 (a) of the council – those cases on which an inability to immediately implement a decision would result in a breach of statutory or contractual duty or would otherwise prevent the council from responding to a situation of emergency, as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004”.