Pedestrianisation scheme delay caused by staff shortages not cost – Kimmins

Delays in pedestrianising Hill Street in Belfast have been caused by staffing shortages, not costs, the Infrastructure minister has insisted.

Sinn Fein’s Liz Kimmins told the Assembly that recent media attention on the stalled project was based on information that was not factual.

Earlier this month, Ms Kimmins faced criticism after citing “austerity by the British government” among the reasons her department had not progressed a scheme estimated to cost around £5,000.

In a written reply to an Assembly question tabled by DUP MLA Phillip Brett, she said underfunding by the Treasury had left her department with limited staff who were only able to proceed with projects on the “basis of prioritisation”.

Mr Brett subsequently heavily criticised the response, questioning how the minister was unable to progress a £5,000 pedestrianisation of the cobbled street in the heart of the city’s Cathedral Quarter while she had proceeded with a £150,000 scheme to introduce Irish language signs at Belfast’s Grand Central Station.

The issue was raised during ministerial question time on Monday by Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister.

She pressed the minister for a timeline on completing the work as she highlighted its potential positive impact on the return of the popular Culture Night in Belfast in September.

The minister responded: “I thank the member for raising this question, and I think it’s attracted quite a lot of media attention in recent weeks, and a lot of that attention has actually been based on information that wasn’t factual.

“So just to make it very clear – the reason that there has been delays in relation to that scheme was not due to the cost… it’s actually due to staffing shortages, as staff were taken elsewhere, to Grand Central Station and dealing with the traffic congestion issues in Belfast.”

Ms Kimmins said officials now hoped to “move at pace” to develop an experimental scheme on Hill Street.

She said while an informal consultation with local businesses last year had registered support for the concept of pedestrianisation they had raised concerns about the length of time proposed for securing vehicular access for deliveries.

She said concerns were also raised about ongoing access for people with disabilities.

In a follow up question, Ms McAllister noted that the minister’s party colleague and predecessor in her department, John O’Dowd, had also cited “austerity” as a reason for not progressing with the pedestrianisation.

Hill Street was temporarily pedestrianised during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms McAllister told the Assembly: “Belfast City Council have recently just announced that Culture Night will be back in Belfast and the Cathedral Quarter is a hub for that.

“That’s just one example of the benefits of pedestrianising parts of our city centre. Can the minister outline when this will actually come to fruition, the experimental pilot that you referred to?”

In reply, Ms Kimmins added: “We have to ensure that we’re engaging with all the stakeholders who will be impacted, and that’s the local businesses who are operating in that area, as well as others.

“So I think for us to ensure that we get that right, it’s important that that process concludes but, as I say, that will be commencing in the next few weeks and hopefully all being well, unless there are any unforeseen issues, we hope we will move forward with that at pace.”