Agenda item

            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.

            The Committee considered two provisional routes which BCM had designed having taken the above challenges and Member feedback into account.  He outlined that both routes would start in the Stormont Estate and finish in the Ormeau Park.

            During discussion, a number of Members stated that they were pleased to see that BCM had taken their views and comments into account.  A number of Members stated that they preferred route Option 1 within the report, as it included opportunities for more local businesses and that it went through areas which had not been included within the previous route.

            In response to a Member’s question regarding the facilitation of those who would be trying to get to and from places of worship on a Sunday, Mr. Burns confirmed to the Members that a road reopening schedule would be publicised in advance of the Marathon and that they would also create a number of gateways along the route to enable people to cross the road, similar to those which were used during the Giro d’Italia in 2014.

            He added that BCM Ltd. would continue to consult widely and that they were happy to engage with Members about any further concerns.

            The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.

            After further discussion, the Committee agreed:

1.      to support the Belfast City Marathon Ltd in relation to the proposed changes to the course, and that the event would be staged on a Sunday from 2019 onwards; and

2.      to recommend route Option 1 as its preferred route.