Pedestrianisation of Belfast street delays ‘beyond’ minister’s control

Further delays to plans to pedestrianise a cobbled street in a popular Belfast nightlife area have been “beyond my control”, Stormont’s infrastructure minister has said.

Liz Kimmins gave an update in the Northern Ireland Assembly on the proposed changes to Hill Street in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.

They were due to be made in November after years of delays, but the minister said there had been “important issues” to address.

Kimmins said her officials in the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) were “working extremely hard to get this up and running as soon as possible”.

The DfI has said the department is finalising the “necessary statutory processes and are awaiting the delivery of amended traffic signs to allow the scheme to commence in early December”.

The department said it had been working to address feedback around “access for disabled people and some permit holders”.

Hill Street, which contains several bars and restaurants, was closed to vehicles for a trial period in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In September, an “experimental scheme” was announced by the Sinn Féin minister, which her department said was “expected to be implemented in November”.

On Monday, Kimmins said there have been “delays which are beyond my control as to why we weren’t able to get it started for the date we hoped”.

She said these were “important issues” and they have now found a “solution” that has resulted in “some tweaks made to some of the signage”.

“So I’m hoping that will be imminent and as soon as we have an update, I will be making that announcement,” the minister added.

“But the delays at this point are outside of my control, and please be assured that my officials have been working extremely hard to get this up and running as soon as possible.”

Kimmins was responding to a question from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member Phillip Brett.

He said the department had “committed that the pedestrianisation of that street would be completed by November”.

“It’s now 1 December, Minister, and the street is still not pedestrianised,” he added.

A DfI spokesperson said: “The Notice of Intention for the Experimental Traffic Control Scheme (Hill Street and Gordon Street) Belfast 2025 was advertised on 15 October, and the department has been working to address feedback from that around access for disabled people and some permit holders.”

Kimmins and her predecessor John O’Dowd have previously cited “underfunding and austerity by the British government” when asked about delays in the project.

It emerged earlier this year DfI estimated its cost would be about £5,000.

Some businesses have criticised the delays, while a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member had argued it showed the Stormont executive’s “failure to deliver on even the simplest of initiatives”.