Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BLAZING ROW OVER BONFIRES
City council in legal move to stop loyalists building pyres even bigger
TWELFTH bonfire builders in Belfast have been stopped from adding more material to their towering creations.
The City Council was granted an injunction
in the High Court yesterday to prevent the delivery of more items to four sites in the east of the city.
The move was prompted by concerns for public safety and the ruling is designed to stop anyone entering the council-owned sites with material without their consent, or in order to erect a bonfire.
But the ruling was last night slammed by loyalist rights campaigner Jamie Bryson.
In a series of tweets, he said: “Belfast City Council have, via their actions in the High Court, opened the door to chaos. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
“It is clear the injunction on East Belfast bonfire sites will – as it most certainly should – be breached.
“This is the opening salvo in attempts to create a bonfire commission mirroring the anti-unionist framework of the Parades Commission.
“Called it years ago. The trajectory of bonfire schemes was always clear to me. I have argued for years councils were trying to use bonfire schemes to eradicate bonfires and it would end in court. I was right.”
The ruling, however, will not prevent the bonfires from taking place on the Eleventh night.
The sites named in the injunction are Ravenscroft Avenue car park/bloomfield walkway, Avoniel Leisure Centre car park, Inverary Playing Fields and Cregagh Park East.
The move has been welcomed by Sinn Fein council leader Jim Mcveigh.
He said: “The gathering and storing of materials has disrupted the use of some of these sites and by burning these large pyres council property would be further destroyed.
“That is not what the ratepayers of this city want to see or indeed pay for.
“It is now critically important the PSNI and Belfast City Council act upon these injunctions to ensure the dangerous material already gathered at these sites is safely removed in order to protect the people, homes and property in the vicinity of these illegal bonfires.”
The order stops anyone with the intention of directing, building, organising and/or constructing bonfires, or providing materials for use on a bonfire on these sites from entering the named areas.
It said: “If you disobey this order you may be found guilty of contempt of court and may be sent to prison, fined or your assets may be seized.”
It is believed police can now prevent further material being added.
Superintendent Robert Murdie said the PSNI has written to the council with regard to the details of the injunction and “it would be inappropriate to comment further ahead of their response”.
It is clear injunction will – as it certainly should – be breached JAMIE BRYSON ON TWITTER LAST NIGHT