Agenda item

To consider further the minute of the meeting of 9^th June which, at the request of Councillor J. Rodgers, was taken back for further consideration to enable representatives of the Belfast City Centre Management to address the Committee

            The Committee considered further the undernoted minute of the meeting of 9th June:

      “The Committee was reminded that the Council over the previous twenty-five years had developed the annual Christmas Lights Switch-on event.  The event had originally involved a number of school choirs and had taken place in the middle of November, with a small audience in attendance.  However, it was now an extremely popular event, with last year’s audience having been estimated at 8,000, and involved a range of high profile national and local celebrities.

      The Head of City Events and Venues reported that correspondence had been received from Belfast City Centre Management, which was supported by the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, requesting that the Council give consideration to moving the day of the event from a Tuesday evening to a Saturday evening in 2010.

      After discussion, the Committee agreed, due to the success experienced by holding the event in mid-week and the potential disruption which could be caused by hosting the event on a Saturday, not to accede to the request and accordingly agreed that the event continue to take place on a Tuesday evening.”

            It was reported the Messrs. A. Irvine, N. Main and P. McMahon were in attendance and they were admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairman.

            Mr. Main indicated that there were a number of reasons why the City centre traders wished to have the Christmas Lights Switch-on changed to a Saturday.  He outlined the current trading trends within the City centre and the effect of the recession, with some businesses experiencing a downturn of up to 25%, which was not being helped by the construction works associated with the Streets Ahead Project.

            He explained that, whilst he understood the importance of the switch-on to both the Council and local traders, only a small amount of business was conducted on that evening and that, together with the trouble which had occurred in the City over the previous two years, this had resulted in a number of traders, including Castlecourt, closing on that evening.  He indicated that, if the event was moved to a Saturday, some traders, such as the Victoria Square, had offered to provide funding to provide family entertainment in the afternoon and that this, in conjunction with an earlier time for the switch-on, could help create an all-day family event.  An earlier switch-on time would also allow those attending, at the conclusion of the event, to visit other venues such as cinemas.  He stated that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had indicated that it would be content with the change to a Saturday.

            In an answer to a number of questions, Mr. Main stated that both the Belfast Business Forum and the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce Executive Council had discussed the issue and both were in agreement that the event should be switched to a Saturday.  Mr. Irvine explained that the Police Service had indicated that a Saturday evening event would provide no greater threat or disruption than a Tuesday and, in fact, due to the Get Home Safe Campaign, it had more resources available to it on Saturdays.

            The deputation then thanked the Committee for receiving them and retired from the meeting.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed to rescind its decision of 9th June and accordingly agreed that, for a one year trial period, the Christmas Lights Switch-on in 2010 be held on a Saturday in November.