Belfast Council Chief says: “The commentary directed towards council officer’s conduct is nothing short of disgraceful.”
A photo of the new Bobby Sands statue(Image: Sinn Fein)
Belfast City Hall witnessed a bad-tempered debate on Thursday over a so-called “illegal” Bobby Sands statue.
Exchanges were made during an emergency full council meeting in which a DUP proposal was passed which called for a forensic examination of the planning decisions made after its erection in West Belfast last year.
Two weeks ago Belfast City Council said no further action would be taken over a statue of the IRA hunger striker that was erected in the Twinbrook area in May 2025.
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The council set up an investigation last year after the monument was set up on Housing Executive land without planning permission but said it was “not considered expedient to take any further action in this instance”.
There are hundreds of monuments, murals and other commemorations that have been erected in all quarters of Belfast on behalf of republican and loyalist figures, many of them convicted paramilitaries, that have not received planning permission. The City Hall Planning Committee regularly faces “retrospective” decision making due to actions being made without planning permission.
In a 90 minute debate at City Hall on Thursday, April 23, a DUP proposal got through with Alliance support, after a Sinn Féin amendment which asked for a review of all illegal monuments and murals across the city failed.
At the start of the debate Sinn Féin said they had received support from the DUP on their proposed amendment for a widespread review into monuments that have received no planning permission. The two parties then resorted to using goading language against each other, the DUP stating Sinn Féin had “u-turned” on the Bobby Sands statue, while Sinn Féin accused the DUP of “buckling” by supporting the Sinn Féin amendment.
By the end of debate DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting said the DUP would not accept amendments from either Sinn Féin or the SDLP.
The debate also saw the Chief Executive John Walsh give an impassioned rebuke of accusations that the council was giving special treatment to the Sinn Féin and republican community in general.
The chamber also witnessed a tense exchange when Sinn Féin Party Group Leader Ciaran Beattie accused the Lord Mayor, DUP Councillor Tracy Kelly, of attending an event at an “illegal” monument that was erected in South Belfast without planning permission.
The Lord Mayor asked Councillor Beattie to display to her video footage of the event he was playing on his smartphone. The Mayor said the footage was from a Rangers Club on private property, and Councillor Beattie replied: “that monument doesn’t have planning permission.”
The DUP proposal was voted through with 27 votes in favour from the DUP, Alliance, UUP and TUV, to 22 votes against from Sinn Féin and People Before Profit, and three abstentions from the Green Party. A Sinn Féin proposal was voted down with similar figures in reverse.
The DUP motion states the council “condemns the unauthorised erection of a statue of Bobby Sands on public land in West Belfast, and expresses serious concern at the decision not to pursue enforcement action.”
The chamber now will call for the decision to be “reconsidered in line with the council’s planning responsibilities and duty to apply the law consistently and fairly across all communities.” Councillors will be given “all relevant documentation, correspondence, internal communications, and the legal basis and rationale upon which the decision was made, subject to legal and data protection requirements.”
The proposer of the motion, Alderman Dean McCullough said at the meeting: “This motion at its heart is about a simple principle, equality. Quite simply (it is about) whether we believe all citizens are equal, or whether some citizens, namely Sinn Féin, are more equal than others.
“Because that is the question the public are now rightly asking. A statue was erected on public land, without planning permission, and without the consent of the landowner.
“An investigation took place, and this council has decided that it is not expedient to take enforcement action. That decision strikes at the very heart of public confidence in this council.
“Because every single day we expect ordinary citizens, not the republican ruling class, but ordinary citizens, residents, families and businesses from every background, to follow the rules. To apply, to wait, pay, and in many cases alter or remove what they have built.”
He said: “This is about a system where the rules appear to be enforced against some, and not applied when it comes to others. Or at the very least, not consistently in others.”
Councillor Beattie said: “There are other photos that we have of other DUP councillors lurking about monuments that also do not have planning permission. In the Shankill every street corner has a mural or a plaque, and none of them have planning permission. But the only issue the BBC and the DUP have is this one statue.”
Alliance Councillor Tara Brooks said: “Planning laws should be applied consistently, regardless of who is involved when an issue arises. We are regularly contacted by constituents who are frustrated about unauthorised developments and structures, when enforcement action is limited or slow.
“Deceisions should never be driven by political pressure, symbolism or identity, but by planning principles and legal advice.”
Belfast City Council Chief Executive John Walsh said at the meeting: “Some of the commentary directed towards council officer’s conduct is nothing short of disgraceful. And I will be reflecting on that.
“Across all of our councils, there are many memorials, monuments, murals. I haven’t (got the figures before me) on them in terms of planning permission, but I am pretty sure when I do so, I know what it will look like.
“The issue of legacy is a really difficult one, but it is not appropriate that we throw officers against the wall on that. They are here applying policy, fairly and objectively.
“Enforcement with limited resources has to be understood. At the minute we have a priority around short-terms lets, do you know how many investigations are live? 700.”
He added: “I won’t sit here and allow the integrity of officers to be insulted. I will reflect on it, and I will be having discussions with group leaders on that.”
The Green Party said in a statement: “This meeting should not have happened. Planning enforcement is clearly delegated to council officers for a reason, to ensure decisions are impartial, evidence-based, and grounded in planning law. Attempts by political parties to intervene in those decisions risks undermining that process, and could breach the standards set out in the councillors’ code of conduct.
“Some members of Belfast City Council have sought to drag council officers into the debate surrounding tonight’s special meeting. We believe that is totally unacceptable. Officers are there to apply the law impartially, not to be pulled into political point-scoring by political parties.
“Councillors are also explicitly advised not to lobby for enforcement action or seek to influence officers. Tonight’s move cuts across that guidance and attempts to set a dangerous precedent.”
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