Issue 71 - Belfast BT4 • BT5 • BT16
Tackling parking issues which impact bin collections
A pilot scheme is now underway on Cregagh Road Loopland Area to address parking issues in Belfast which can make it difficult to empty residents’ bins on time.
Boatbuilder Niamh Scullion, Lord Mayor Of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy, And Dr Paul Mullan, From The Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage skills brought back to life through Belfast 2024 programme Boat building, gardening and sewing are among the traditional skills being brought back to life through Belfast’s City Council’s Belfast 2024 programme. The celebration of culture and creativity is now well underway across the city, with projects, events and workshops encouraging people to get creative and try their hand at something new this year. Among them are ten projects celebrating Belfast’s built, cultural, industrial, maritime, natural and intangible heritage, with additional funding of £250,000
provided from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. One of them – Water Works - will see 10,000 boats setting sail down the River Lagan on Saturday 3 August, most of which will be created by residents and school pupils through workshops and events led by arts organisation PS2. The corso will celebrate the role of waterways in and around Belfast and
feature several larger boats, including a St Ayles skiff – a wooden boat crewed by five people – which is currently under construction at Vault Artist Studios, located inside the old Shankill Mission building. Led by writer and boatbuilder Niamh Scullion, almost 90 people have signed up so far to help build the skiff, which will be 22 foot long and
almost 6 foot wide when completed. Volunteers have been busy putting together the boat’s spruce frame and plywood moulds and shaping the stem, hog and rib skeleton of the skiff from larch – a complex process which follows traditional techniques.
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Belfast City Council is collaborating with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure on the ‘Park with us in mind’ initiative, which is targeting hotspots where council waste collection vehicles are often unable to gain access in order to help residents dispose of their waste and recycling. This can be due to poor, inconsiderate or illegal parking, including parking at street corners, parking on double yellow lines or parking on both sides of the pavement, making it hard or impossible for collection vehicles to pass through. During the pilot, which will run for 18 months initially, streets will undergo a phased approach to help tackle problem parking issues. Cars causing an obstruction or parked
illegally will initially receive an advisement notice on their windshield, outlining the importance of proper parking to ensure bins can be collected on time and other essential service vehicles, including ambulances and fire engines, can pass by in an emergency. Patrols will also be carried out by PSNI and DFI officers, who are responsible for parking enforcement in the city, and there will also be educational outreach activities, undertaken by the three agencies, in the areas involved. The council is encouraging both residents and commuters to think before they park and to comply with parking regulations as part of the pilot scheme, with further information available on the council’s website at belfastcity.gov.uk/ street-access