Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from The High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Howard, Alderman Haire and Councillors Baker and O’Donnell.

            Councillors Dudgeon, Hussey and O’Hara declared an interest in Item 2b, namely, Belfast City Marathon, in that they were Members of the Licensing Committee, and left the room for the duration of the discussion.

            In accordance with Standing Order 14, the Committee agreed, as the meeting had been held later than seven clear days before the meeting of the Council, that the minutes of the meeting be submitted to the Council on 2nd July for ratification.

            The Chairperson advised the Committee that Mr. K. Monaghan, Eastern Divisional Manager, Mr. G. Doherty, Belfast South Section Engineer, Mr. G. Miskimmin, Higher Professional Technical Officer Belfast North, and Mr. C. de Burca, Director for Transport Projects and Business Services in the Department for Infrastructure, were in attendance and they were admitted to the meeting.

            Mr. Monaghan outlined to the Members that pressures remained on both capital and resource funding in 2018/2019 but that his staff would continue to develop resurfacing and traffic management schemes to enhance safety, improve traffic flow and provide measures for pedestrians and cyclists. He advised the Members that almost 40,000 surface defects had been repaired over the past few months through the roads recovery fund.

            He provided the Committee with updates on the main strategic transportation schemes for the City and highlighted key statistics within the Council area of the Eastern Division.

            In relation to the York Street Interchange, he advised the Members that the tender process to appoint a contractor to bring the scheme to construction-ready stage had been completed but that the tender award could not occur due to an ongoing legal challenge and that they were awaiting the judgement.  He pointed out that, following Ministerial approval, the consultation of local residents and key stakeholders on issues which had been identified in the Inspector’s report had now commenced.

            He also advised the Members that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) had intended to extend the hard shoulder bus lane on the M1 to junction 8 at Blaris and to introduce a hard shoulder bus lane on the M2 towards Belfast, between Greencastle and Duncrue Street.  He explained that a previous proposal to carry this out in 2017 did not proceed due to higher than expected tender costs.  The Committee was advised that an alternative proposal had since been drawn up, and was currently going through the procurement process.

            Mr. de Burca provided the Members with an update on the numerous works which had been completed in preparation for the Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, which would begin on 3rd September 2018.  He advised the Members that a full upgrade of the lighting and to the pavements had been carried out along the BRT route and provided details of the 12-hour BRT bus lanes along the route.

            The Committee noted that all 30 Glider vehicles were currently being tested on the roads and that alternative routes were also being trialled for those occasions when roads were closed.  He explained that a shadow trial of the service would be held between 28th and 30th August.

            The Members were advised that the official launch event would take place on Friday 31st August in the Titanic Centre.

            A Member referenced the reduction of car parking spaces on the Falls Road area as a result of the BRT works, and that a recent survey had shown that car parking was already at 100% capacity in the area.  He highlighted that the survey had been conducted at a time when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            Upon receiving advice from the City Solicitor, Councillors Dudgeon, Hussey and O’Hara declared an interest and left the room for the duration of the item.  The City Solicitor identified that, as Members of the Licensing Committee, those Members had responsibility for considering objections to applications in relation to restricting or prohibiting traffic using a road for the holding of specific events under the Roads (Misc provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010.

            The Committee was reminded that representatives from Belfast City Marathon Ltd. had previously attended a Special meeting of the Committee, on 21st February, where they had outlined proposals to change the City’s marathon route and the day on which it was held, from 2019 onwards.

            The Committee had acceded to a request from the representatives to attend a further meeting, at its meeting on 13th June, in order to address the issues which had been raised by Members at the previous meeting.

            The Chairperson introduced Mr. S. Burns, Event Manager, Mr. J. Allen, Board Member, Mr. J. Glover, Route Designer, and Mrs. E. Riddell, Marketing and Events Officer of Belfast City Marathon (BCM) to the Committee and they were welcomed to the meeting.

            Mr. Burns provided the Committee with an overview of the BCM Finisher report 2018.  He explained that the current marathon route had been used for thirteen years and that over 80% of participants had requested a change.  He added that 90% of participants were content for the event to move to a Sunday.

            He explained to the Committee that, from 2019 onwards, and having considered feedback from a number of sources, BCM Limited was proposing to change the route of the marathon and to stage it on the Sunday immediately prior to May Day. 

            He outlined to the Committee a number of the challenges which BCM had considered in developing a new route, including:

·        minimising the impact on places of worship on the route or affected by the road closures;

·        reducing the impact on businesses across the City;

·        ensuring implementation of new Traffic Management Legislation

·        maintaining current levels of sponsorship and identify funding sources for any increased cost in traffic management and stewarding;

·        making it a more runner friendly route and increasing participation;

·        including iconic landmarks of Belfast, whilst visiting all parts of the City; and

·        the increased costs due to Road Closure legislation and a reduction in policing.

            In relation to the increased costs of staging the Marathon, the Strategic Director of Place and Economy explained to the Committee that any financial request from BCM Ltd. would be submitted for the Committee’s consideration at a future date and that it would need to be considered within the context of other financial requests presented to the Council. He added that, if the request for additional funding was recurrent, then it would either need to be considered as part of the rate setting process for 2019/2020 onwards, or that recurrent savings within the department’s budget would need to be found to cover the increase.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3b