Northern Ireland

British government will not compensate residents after Eleventh Night bonfire damage

Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell 
Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell  Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell 

The British government has ruled out compensating residents of an apartment block damaged by a loyalist bonfire.

Windows in the high-rise Victoria Place building in central Belfast shattered and other scorch damage was sustained during the Sandy Row bonfire on Tuesday night.

Firefighters spent the night dousing the tower on Wellwood Street with water in an effort to prevent it catching fire.

Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell 
Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell  Damage to windows of the apartment block on Wellwood Street near Belfast's Sandy Row. Picture by Hugh Russell 

Affected residents have demanded accountability and questioned who will pay for what is likely to be a significant repair bill.

Read more: Residents tell of bonfire 'night of horror'Opens in new window ]

On Friday, the Northern Ireland Office countered speculation that the British government could pick up the tab.

"The Northern Ireland Office does not operate a bonfire compensation scheme," said a spokeswoman.

"The issue of bonfires is complex and often involves a number of organisations operating within the devolved administration such as the local council and the respective landowner.

"Where an individual is seeking compensation for damage to property, the specific circumstances of each claim will define the process."

Firefighters in the north dealt with 40 bonfire-related incidents - up 21% on last year - on a night when they received 213 emergency calls in total and mobilised to 133 incidents overall - a 49% hike on 2016.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) described the night as "exceptionally busy", with crews dealing with 95 operational incidents between 10pm and 1am.

Homes were boarded up at a number of bonfire sites amid concerns around safety and risk to property.

Belfast City Council said it also did not operate a bonfire compensation scheme.

A spokesman said: "The council works with a range of partner agencies and communities to mitigate the most negative impacts of bonfires. However, it has no role in relation to the bonfire itself."

DUP MP for the area, Emma Little Pengelly, said she has spoken to the property manager and has been assured the windows of Victoria Place will be fixed as soon as possible.

"The building is fully insured and these repairs will happen," she added.

"I want to meet with more of the owners and residents in the next short while to listen to your views and issues and I will be working with the community to ensure this does not happened again."

Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey said the DUP need to show leadership on the issue of bonfires.

"With the burning of effigies, poster and flags being addressed by the PSNI as hate crimes, the damage done to property across many bonfire sites amounting to a huge bill and the environmental and health and safety aspects that become more apparent each year, Sinn Féin are ready to be part of any conversation on this issue," he said.

Green Party MLA Clare Bailey said the land has been earmarked for development for eight years, and if this had gone forward Victoria Place wouldn't have been damaged.

She also said that the situation could have easily been avoided if the right precautions had been taken.

"This bonfire was far too close to the building and it went ahead despite the organisers being given fire safety advice warning them of this," she said.

"Just last year we had houses burnt out on the Shankill Road due to embers from a bonfire landing on their roofs. That should have been the biggest warning that things needed to change.

"Just look at what happened last month at Grenfell Tower in London."