Plan to develop Boucher Playing Fields flawed due to space insists councillor

Jim Rodgers is adamant that there is not enough room to accommodate the proposal for one football pitch and two GAA ones, and that one pitch will have to be dropped from the plans.

The veteran UUP man said that unionists "would not allow" two GAA pitches alone to go on the site - though he also conceded that they might not have the votes to stop any such move if it did get proposed.

On Friday, a meeting of the full Belfast City Council approved a Strategic Policy and Resources Committee proposal for "two GAA pitches, an intermediate soccer pitch and small sided games pitches" at the site by 2028.

One side effect of this is that there may be no more massive music concerts at the site, which typically hosts gigs involving around 40,000 fans during the summer months.

But councillor Rodgers said that the plans will need to be revisited because when you consider the buffer space needed between pitches, and the associated changing rooms, there is just no space for what has been agreed.

"I've been round a lot of pitches - I was Glentoran's chief scout for many years. I'd have gone to quite a number of grounds throughout Northern Ireland," he said.

"Whenever I look at Boucher, definitely there is not sufficient space to get the two gaelic pitches and one association football pitch on it.

"Myself and some of my colleagues, what they're saying is there's only room for one gaelic pitch and one football pitch."

The pitch sizes could be shrunk, but that would be resisted by footballers and gaelic players alike, he said.

Could rival parties push for just two GAA pitches instead?

"We would not allow that whatsoever," he said.

However, Sinn Fein and the SDLP have 27 seats between them on the 60-seat council, and Alliance have 11 and the Greens three.

So couldn't the non-unionist parties force through such a plan if they wanted to?

"Oh yes, they could. They could - there's no two ways about that," he said.

"If you've got the majority you could push many’s the thing through."

If that happened, "be rest assured there'd be a lot anger and people attacking the decision".

He added that "there's still a lot of water under the bridge before it's all finalised".

The DUP said in a statement: “The official assessment of the site by Belfast City Council has indicated it can accommodate not just one intermediate football pitch but four others suitable for the matches in the South Belfast Youth League.

”Our position has always been to deliver upon our unwavering support for football teams such as Kelvin FC and Sandy Row FC.

"However, that can be delivered upon alongside the provision of an entertainment venue.

"Promoters and stakeholders are confident that concerts with a 40,000 capacity could continue alongside the number of pitches indicated by council and are willing to work with council to that end.”

Belfast City Council has said there is a “significant deficit in pitch provision across Belfast”.

It added: “The council acknowledges the potential conflict with the site’s existing use as the largest venue for major concerts and events in Belfast and recognises the importance of ensuring a site is maintained that is capable of hosting on a similar or indeed greater scale going forward, with appropriate supporting facilities and infrastructure.

"There will be a commitment to working with the large-scale events sector, statutory partners and local stakeholders to identity and assess suitable alternative sites across the city or the potential for managing both within the Boucher Road Playing Fields.

"A report will be brought back on these options within two months to advance this issue.”