DUP bid to block plan for Irish street signs near Belfast school is defeated

A DUP bid to block proposals to erect Irish street signs in two North Belfast streets near a school which draws many pupils from the wider Shankill Road area has been defeated.

At a Belfast City Council committee meeting this week the party argued the proximity of potential new Irish signage to a girl’s secondary school would have an impact on “good relations” in the Cliftonville area of North Belfast.

Applications have been placed for Irish street signs at Cardigan Drive and Dunblane Avenue, the latter being close to Belfast Model School for girls, a non-denominational school which was previously a protestant school, and draws many of its pupils from Greater Shankill.

Last year council policy on dual language street signs changed, with the authority dropping the threshold to requiring only one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor to trigger a consultation, with 15 percent in favour being sufficient to erect the sign.

DUP Councillor Jordan Doran said: “Dunblane Avenue is a mixed and diverse community, and I have strong concerns that the proposal to add an Irish street name to Dunblane Avenue would have a strongly negative impact on community relations within the area.” He said the same applied to Cardigan Drive.

At a meeting on Tuesday, DUP Councillor Nicola Verner said: “I would like to have some insight as to what the initial assessment contains, and what it actually looks at. I think Councillor Doran was concerned about the Dunblane Avenue request in particular because the next street is Dunowen, the street that gives access to Girls Model Secondary School.

“I think there may have been a concern regarding the impact of a dual language sign on good relations in that surrounding area. So I want to know what the initial assessment for impact looked at.”

The council officer replied: “The initial assessment looks at a number of different factors including census information, in terms of make-up of residents in the different streets, and tries to identify any issues surrounding that. And we work with our good relations colleagues on potential impact or issues in that area.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Tomás Ó Néill said: “I don’t get this. I live in the area, I work in the area, I represent the area. I appreciate what is being said but in reference to Cardigan Drive, a street that runs off it recently was surveyed, and 87 percent of respondents voted in favour of dual language signage.

“If residents vote against it – sound. That is the whole point of a resident’s survey. But to remove the option before we get there, that sends out a horrible signal, and sets a dodgy precedent. Give the residents their say, let them vote yes or no, and then we can move forward with that information.”

DUP Councillor Tracy Kelly said: “We have just had a report confirming Irish street signs, and everybody let it go through, as it is obviously in an area where it is wanted, and nobody has any issues. We have no issues with the Irish language where it is wanted.

Councillor Verner said: “There is a school there with maybe 1,000 pupils that frequent that area as well. They will not have a say in a residents survey. They are still stakeholders in that area. We agree that everybody’s opinion matters, and everybody’s opinion is valuable.”

Councillor Ó Néill successfully proposed the council proceed with the survey of Cardigan Drive and Dunblane Avenue, with 15 votes in favour, and five votes against from the DUP.