East Belfast main road residents face Irish signs survey despite council’s ‘community tension’ warning

Residents of a main road in east Belfast are being surveyed over new Irish language signs despite a council warning it could cause “community tensions”.

Householders living on the Upper Newtownards Road have received letters from Belfast City Council advising them of an application to erect signs that, along with the English name, would feature the road’s Irish translation, Bóthar Bhaile Nua na hArda Uachtarach.

It follows the application being deferred from last year when the council’s People and Communities Committee first received a request for new signage along the road.

It was one of several applications deemed by council officials to have “potential for adverse impact”.

A report warned even carrying out the survey itself “has the potential to give rise to community tension”.

However, the report also acknowledged the process “could alternatively assist in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity”.

An attempt had been made at committee level last year to block any surveys along the roads in question, but that was defeated in a vote.

The application was made under the council’s controversial dual language street signage policy that has been criticised by unionists over a threshold that can see new signs agreed with the backing of just 15% of residents.

The policy has led to deep divisions among parties on the council, and its committee responsible for dealing with the applications, which can be made by just one resident or councillor, and see all residents surveyed.

However, not all applications that meet the threshold after survey will guarantee new signage, with some controversial requests being decided by a vote, as the council retains ‘residual discretion’.

The survey of Upper Newtownards Road residents follows two separate applications from residents, it has been confirmed.

The letters advising locals of the request for bilingual signs were received at the end of last month.

However, the People and Communities Committee has this year backed a review of the signage policy to gather legal opinion, and is seeking the views of Northern Ireland’s two language commissioners.

The review has led to a pause on applications being brought before the committee, a move that has been condemned by Sinn Féin councillors, who have accused the council of “stalling” on residents’ requests.

Bilingual signage with Irish has previously caused controversy in east Belfast, a majority unionist area of the city.

In June, it was agreed that residents of Dromore Street, off the Cregagh Road, would be surveyed following an application, despite it also being determined to have “potential for adverse impact”.

In April, a plan for new signage at Stormont Park, off the Upper Newtownards Road, was scrapped after a narrow council vote that saw 29 to 28 in favour of not proceeding with the proposal.

Meanwhile, bilingual signs in east Belfast’s Shandon Park have been repeatedly targeted in acts of vandalism, including the signs being cut with an angle grinder, the Irish wording painted out, and being defaced with union flag stickers.

However, the Upper Newtownards Road application is now not likely to come back before the council for “quite some time”, DUP councillor Ruth Brooks said, due to the policy review.

She added her party remained opposed to the 15% resident threshold for applications.

East Belfast UUP councillor Jim Rodgers said he could see “all sorts of difficulties” with surveying Upper Newtownards Road residents for an application unlikely to ultimately succeed.

“All of this costs money for ratepayers that would be better spent elsewhere,” he said.

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said: “We can confirm that council has received two applications for dual language streets signs with a second language in Irish for Upper Newtownards Road.

“The street is currently subject to survey and this was issued to residents on 27 August.”