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Belfast Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Stormont says it has no money for Belfast Culture Night this year
Elected representatives at a recent Belfast City Council committee meeting received an update from officials stating that Stormont would not be helping with the bill for the popular cultural event, which has not been held since 2021. Green Party councillor Áine Groogan, who has led the charge to reintroduce the event at City Hall, expressed disappointment after responses from both the Infrastructure Minister and a representative from the Department for Communities. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) gave no confirmation that Translink would offer a night service for Culture Night 2025, while the Department for Communities (DfC) said it would provide no funding for the event this year. In April it was announced Belfast Culture Night would return this year, but will be taken 'off the streets,' with a new look, led by money from City Hall. Councillors then agreed to launch a public procurement exercise to deliver the 2025 Culture Night programme up to the value of £150,000, considerably more than Belfast Council previously contributed, when the Cathedral Quarter Trust led a partnership which delivered the hugely successful event annually in September. The new Culture Night will not programme street-based events and will concentrate on venue-based events across a wider space in the city, with more community involvement. The event will aim to move away from street drinking and concentrations of crowds, and will require organisations to prove they are paying artists. The pandemic resulted in the suspension of the event in September 2020, with a digital version staged instead. That year the Cathedral Quarter Trust and Belfast City Council co-commissioned a review which said 'the existing model for Culture Night has become problematic'. In 2022 organisers said that the event had 'become too big and unwieldy' and the original intention of providing a platform for artistic and cultural communities to connect with a much wider audience 'had been lost'. Culture Night ran in Belfast in 2021, but did not return. In 2023 the Cathedral Quarter Trust announced it would cease day-to-day operations after Stormont funding was ended. Financial pressures facing Stormont's Department for Communities were reportedly behind the decision. In May, the council wrote to the Infrastructure Minister and Translink requesting that consideration be given to the operation of late-night public transport services on Culture Night. The council also wrote to the Communities Minister requesting that consideration be given to the provision of funding to support the 2025 Culture Night programme, and also going forward. At the August meeting of the council's City Growth and Regeneration Committee, elected representatives were given an update on plans for this year's event. Councillors learned a representative for the Department for Communities, led by DUP MLA Gordon Lyons, replied stating: 'In respect of any funding support, I am sorry to advise that the Department does not have any funding streams available, which I appreciate will be disappointing. I also checked with the Arts Council who advised they have been consulted and advised on application routes through its open programmes.' The letter from Sinn Féin MLA and Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins replied: 'I understand Translink are working with the City Council to develop a support plan for the event and welcome that both organisations are continuing to work together to ensure that people will be able to travel to and from the event by public transport. 'On a wider basis, I remain committed to finding a solution which will enable the extension of late-night public transport services, not only for one off events in the city, but on a year-round basis and will continue to build on my recent positive engagement with the Economy Minister and representatives of Belfast City Council in this regard.' Councillor Áine Groogan said at the City Growth and Regeneration Committee meeting: 'Unfortunately it is disappointing, but not surprising, (in terms of both of) these responses.' She added: 'I have written in my own personal capacity to the Minister for Infrastructure around night time transport, and not just for culture night, because it should be a long term thing. But I think Culture Night gives us something to work to. It would be an incredibly positive thing for the Minister and the city as a whole to run night time services on that night.' She added: 'Time is short for 2025, we can appreciate that, and maybe it is not something to budget for this year. We can give them a bit of grace on that, but I would propose that we write now asking for engagement in 2026, for investment in Culture Night.' Councillors unanimously agreed to her proposal. An officer said: 'Translink did come back to us, but it wasn't a substantive response. It was indicating that they continue to liaise with the department in relation to funding.'
ITV News
15-07-2025
- Health
- ITV News
Northern Ireland homelessness charities warn services could be cut after National Insurance increase
Homelessness charities are warning that some services might have to be reduced following April's hike to National Insurance which means employers now need to pay 15%. This could result in additional costs running into the millions of pounds for the sector, according to its representative body. As a result, it is calling on Stormont to provide financial support. Mark Baillie from Homeless Connect, said: "This is just yet another challenge that the sector faces. And again, we are calling on and urging the Department for Communities, the Minister for Communities and the Executive to do everything in their power to ensure that these increased National Insurance contribution costs are mitigated. "Because if they're not, there could be very serious consequences for people who are experiencing homelessness right now and for people who are on the margins." These fears are echoed by a First Housing, a charity that employs more than 125 people across Northern Ireland. One of the services it runs is a youth accommodation service in Londonderry known as Jefferson Court which houses 25 young people who are at risk of homelessness. But over the year, the charity estimates that the National Insurance changes will add nearly £200,000 to its tax bill, which means it might have to reassess how it allocates its money to services such as Jefferson Court. Eileen Best said: "If we weren't here, I believe that it would cost the public purse much, much more because our services impact on emergency services, the juvenile justice system, the police, and on A&E. "All those services at the moment are stretched with their own budgets and it would become an even greater crisis." The Department for Communities said: "Minister Lyons has repeatedly stressed the need to make the strategic shift to homelessness prevention. "The Northern Ireland Housing Executive will now have a dedicated homeless prevention budget beginning with an additional £2.5million this year ring-fenced for the strategic prevention of homelessness. "The minister also recently launched the £10m loan to acquire move on accommodation fund for homeless organisations to buy homes."
Belfast Telegraph
16-06-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Almost £49m of £114m spent on public realm schemes in NI was in Belfast
City accounts for £49m invested in projects compared to £65m for rest of Northern Ireland Spending on public realm schemes varies greatly across Northern Ireland, new figures show. Almost £49m of the £113.8m spent on schemes over a five-year period was in Belfast — 36% of the total. It has prompted calls for more investment outside the capital. SDLP communities spokesperson Daniel McCrossan voiced his concern at the funding disparity. 'Given Belfast's size and strategic role, it is reasonable it receives a significant share of public investment,' he said. 'But with so many towns, cities and villages across the North crying out for support, it is impossible to justify such a large concentration of public realm funding in one area.' Public realm schemes are designed to improve the overall attractiveness of an area and can range from the creation of public squares to seaside promenades. For years there have been concerns, not just relating to public realm schemes, but to the geographical allocation of public funds across Northern Ireland, with many in more rural or less-populated areas believing they are overlooked compared to major towns and cities. This disparity is also cited in areas such as foreign direct investment, arts funding and business investment from bodies like Invest NI. The Department for Communities is responsible for allocating tens of millions in public money for public realm schemes here. Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request reveal where this money has gone from the beginning of the 2019/20 financial year to the end of 2023/24 — the latest data available. Broken down by council area, Belfast has received the most in public realm investment over this period, with £48,661,702 spent. Next came Mid and East Antrim council area, which received £17,406,600. The Antrim and Newtownabbey council area received the least amount of public realm funding (£1,353,044), followed by Lisburn and Castlereagh, which received £3,768,600. Mr McCrossan added: 'These schemes have the potential to transform communities, boosting tourism, supporting local businesses and making places more attractive to live and work. That kind of impact should be felt in every corner of the North, not just in Belfast. 'In Strabane, I've been campaigning for years to secure public realm investment. While close to delivery, we're still waiting for work to begin. When completed it will make a huge difference to the town and every community deserves the same opportunity to benefit.' Weekend News Catchup - 16th June 2025 A spokesperson from the Department for Communities said, 'Belfast is, by far, the largest urban settlement and so it has attracted the greatest amount of spending on public realm. 'Investments in public realms per council area fluctuate depending on the schemes that are developed up, largely in partnership with councils. 'At present the department is delivering a £5m public realm scheme in Derry~Londonderry and has approved significant investment in public realm schemes in Strabane (£6m DfC investment), Downpatrick (£2.6m) and Glengormley (£2.4m).' Last year, it emerged there was a significant east-west disparity in potential foreign direct investment visits hosted here by Invest NI. Between 2013 and 2023, the economic development agency hosted 1,772 visits. Of these visits, 92% were in the east and 8% in the west. Some 1,445 (82%) took place in Belfast and just 66 (3.7%) in Derry.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
More than 100 historic sites damaged across NI
More than 100 specially protected archaeological sites and historic monuments have been damaged or vandalised in Northern Ireland over the last five years. Most of the breaches occurred on or near farmland including an ancient field system in County Antrim and a centuries-old ceremonial site in County Tyrone. There are 2,000 historic monuments in Northern Ireland that are protected by law, with some dating back almost 10,000 years. The latest figures on damage and vandalism have led to fresh calls for more awareness to be raised around the importance of such historical sites and monuments. The Department for Communities has responsibility for protecting historic monuments here. Paul Logue is a senior official with the department's historic environment division. He said: "Archaeological sites represent a unique source of information about the lives of our ancestors and how they adapted to and changed their environment. "Unauthorised works at scheduled sites remove or degrade that archaeological source of information and can be likened to removing an important book from a library and burning it before anyone has had a chance to read it." There are currently around 35,500 archaeological monuments recorded in the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI). But only around 2,000 of them are scheduled, which means they have statutory protection. They include many prehistoric sites, forts, churches, castles, maritime sites, and also more recent industrial and defence heritage. New sites and monuments are discovered every year, often during building excavations, the farming of land and changes in weather conditions revealing ancient sites. BBC News NI previously reported on how in 2022 a spell of hot weather dried up a swamp in the Loup area that had been concealing a man-made island, known as a crannog. Special permission must be sought before any works are carried out on scheduled monuments to protect them from damage. Failure to get the proper permissions or unlawfully disturbing them can lead to a court summons and a fine. In January 2024 a building contractor was fined £50,000 for demolishing a protected historic monument on a site he intended to develop in County Antrim. Figures obtained by BBC News NI show that there have been over 100 breach cases at scheduled monuments in the last five years. A breakdown of the figures include damage to an ancient field system in County Antrim and a unique set of historic limekilns near Lisburn. Other incidents include graffiti at a 5,000-year-old tomb site open to the public in County Down. A path was also unlawfully inserted into an ancient ceremonial site near a burial cairn in the historic Davagh forest in County Tyrone. Davagh Forest is located at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains where a number of significant archaeological finds have been made. These include the Beaghmore Stone Circles which were discovered in the late 1930s when a local worker, George Barnett, was cutting peat. Damage was also recorded at a number of historic canals in Newry and near the River Lagan in Belfast. Illegal metal detecting was also a problem and in one instance a number of large holes were dug up at a medieval abbey site in Co Down. Some of the most serious damage cases occurred during the Covid period and around 30% of breaches occurred in urban areas, but most breaches were on farmland. Paul Logue said: "The high percentage of farmland cases is most likely because Northern Ireland has a large amount of farmland in our landscape and the overwhelming number of protected monuments are on farmland. "But overwhelmingly, we believe that Northern Ireland landowners and farmers are responsible people who in many cases have carefully looked after monuments on their land for generations. However, like any other section of society, a minority do not act responsibly." Seán Clarke is a Sinn Fein councillor and farmer from Broughderg who has reported the discovery of several historic artefacts from the land during his working life. Along with the local history group, he was instrumental in discovering a prehistoric site surrounding the ruins of an old school from the 1800s. He said: "We noticed that there was this deep bank in a double ring shape that surrounded the old playground, and we began to realise this was something much older. "We reported it to the authorities and they said they believed it was a prehistoric ceremonial site, so we helped get it reported and registered." He added: "Down the years even on my own land I've discovered different things like old standing stones and stone circles. "It's so important to protect these artefacts because they're part of our story, part of our past and once they're gone, they're gone forever, they can't be replicated." Paul Logue added: "The reality is we need the message out there that if you do damage heritage, you may end up with a criminal record. "And that's not what we want, so we would just ask people to be cautious and remember these places and monuments are telling important stories about humanity." Man fined £50k for demolishing monument Hot weather dries up swamp, uncovers ancient fort
Belfast Telegraph
02-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Cost of maintaining NI's historic buildings cited as main reason behind deterioration, research shows
Some 36% of listed buildings here are in a poor or very poor condition, while a third are lying vacant, according to a recent survey. Listed buildings are those deemed to be of special historical or architectural interest. Once a building is listed, it is offered a degree of legal protection. Any significant changes to such buildings can only happen with consent from the local council. There are around 9,000 listed buildings across Northern Ireland, with properties frequently being added to the list. A survey of listed building owners has recently been published by Stormont's Department for Communities, following research which revealed a significant decline in the condition of listed buildings over the last decade. More than four-fifths of respondents thought the listed building they owned or were responsible for was either very important or important in terms of the overall historic environment, the character of their local area, local history or heritage for future generations. The survey also explores the reasons behind this deterioration, with the most cited reasons relating to the costs involved in maintenance. Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) said the lack of government funding to meet higher maintenance costs was an issue, while 67% said that the cost of suitable skilled builders and appropriate materials was a factor. Around a fifth of respondents (19%) felt that the value of their building did not justify the cost of investing in it. Those surveyed gave various suggestions as to what would encourage them to carry out repairs, including grants for repairs and help with rates and VAT. Responding to the findings, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said: 'For the first time, this research gives us a detailed picture of the views of listed buildings and scheduled monument owners on the benefits they see, the barriers they face, and the interventions they think we might make, to ensure that our privately owned heritage is as well maintained as it can be. 'Our buildings and monuments are a public good, they do more than provide benefits to individual owners. 'They help all our society by attracting jobs and tourism, reflecting civic pride, improving our wellbeing, reinforcing our identity and by being a key resource to learn about our long and unique history. 'As a society we owe our gratitude to those who look after these structures, and as a department we will use this research to refine and develop the practical support and help which we can provide to owners.' On the findings that more than a third of listed buildings here are in a poor or very poor condition, Mr Lyons said it 'paints a very worrying picture'. 'Heritage is a key driver of tourism to Northern Ireland and a source of civic pride and identity. Once lost, it and the potential that it holds are gone forever,' he added. 'I have asked my Department to consider this within the Heritage, Culture and Creativity Programme. 'The new programme will deliver policies for arts, museums, public libraries and the historic environment. 'These are due to go to public consultation this year and my hope is that the Historic Environment Policy will provide the step change that we need and help kickstart a proper appreciation of our built heritage — what we have and how it can be utilised creatively — for public benefit.'
