Agenda item

            The City Solicitor informed the Committee that a request had been received from Redhead Exhibition to install an interpretative interactive sign on a bollard facing the North West lawn in the grounds of the City Hall. The sign would form part of a James Connolly heritage trail in Belfast being funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

            He reported that Mr. Michael Lyons, Assistant Director, Redhead Exhibition, was in attendance to outline the extent of the proposal and he was welcomed to the meeting.

            Mr. Lyons informed the Members that the James Connolly heritage trail had been designed as a walking tour and that it would be supported by an innovative augmented reality app, which would allow for the presentation of dynamic interpretative content via smartphone and tablet devices. The trail would commence in the grounds of the City Hall, as a natural meeting and focal point, and proceed, with stops being made at a number of buildings and areas of historical significance, to the Connolly family home opposite the City Cemetery on the Falls Road. It would, he pointed out, target local and international visitors and was being integrated into the City’s tourism offering through Visit Belfast and other tourism centres.

            He explained that Redhead Exhibition had been tasked with designing and installing thirteen signs for the trail, all of which would be 300 mm in diameter and of a consistent design. The sign in the grounds of the City Hall would, upon being activated virtually, create a virtual interpretative space which would set the cultural, economic, political and social context around the time of James Connolly’s arrival in Belfast in 1911 as a Trades Union pioneer. All design, manufacturing and installation costs would be met by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. He concluded by inviting the Committee to accede to his request.

            During discussion, a Member raised a number of issues around the proposal, such as the increasing number of tours which were now using the City Hall as a starting point and the potential for congestion, the setting of a precedent for further requests of this nature, the affixing of the sign to what was a listed building and the use on the sign of a symbol which had, in the past, been used by proscribed organisations. He made the point that the use of the sign would be limited to those occasions on which the grounds of the City Hall were open and suggested that it would be more effective if placed at a nearby public realm location, where it was more accessible or combined with other cultural tour signage nearby.

            Other Members highlighted the benefits to be derived from the proposed James Connolly Trail and the need for the Council to develop a policy to deal with future requests of this nature was raised.  

            In response, Mr. Lyons confirmed that the interactive technology used in the sign was well advanced and would not be affected by crowds or other obstructions and added that the sign would be affixed to a post close to the main entrance, rather than on the façade of the building. He added that the symbol on the sign was a representation of that used by the Irish Citizen Army of trade union volunteers, of which James Connolly was a member, and was now part of the James Connolly Visitor Centre corporate brand.

            After further discussion, it was

            Moved by Alderman Kingston,

            Seconded by Councillor Pankhurst

      That the Committee agrees to defer the request from Redhead Exhibition to install a sign in the grounds of the City Hall, as part of the James Connolly Heritage Trail, to allow for it to be considered by Party Group Leaders and agrees also that consideration be given to formulating a policy to deal with future requests of this nature. 

            On a recorded vote, eleven Members voted for the proposal and eight against and it was declared carried.

            The Committee noted that the City Solicitor would submit to a future meeting a report providing a legal opinion on the outcome of the independent Equality Impact Assessment which had, in 2012, been undertaken in relation to City Hall Memorabilia.