Northern Ireland

Claim that council bonfire scheme legally unworkable

Loyalists in the West Winds area of Newtownards have rejected a council-managed bonfire scheme
Loyalists in the West Winds area of Newtownards have rejected a council-managed bonfire scheme Loyalists in the West Winds area of Newtownards have rejected a council-managed bonfire scheme

LOYALISTS in the West Winds area of Newtownards claim a council-managed scheme that links funding for family events to ownership of bonfires is penalising vulnerable people.

The West Winds Social and Cultural Institution claims that the Ards and North Down council scheme is legally unworkable.

Loyalists in the area are the latest to reject the council's updated conditions that require either a person or organisation to take ownership of an 'associated bonfire' in order to apply for money for events.

Noel Morrison, spokesman for the cultural group, said the conditions placed on those who want to avail of funding make signing up to the scheme a "legal minefield".

"Loyalists in the area, quite rightly in the view of our group, refused to give their support to signing up to statutory conditions on bonfires," Mr Morrison said.

"This comes in the context of a province-wide statutory attempt to criminalise bonfires and loyalists in the West Winds who could not in all conscience agree to this.

"Due to this a constituted community group has been told they will not be welcome to apply for the cultural expression funding to host a children’s fun day.

"Despite claiming they do not fund bonfires, the council have made having an ‘associated bonfire’ a pre-condition for constituted community groups to access fun day funding.

"This seeks to penalise the whole community.

"Here we have a scheme whereby constituted groups are excluded from accessing a funding scheme for a family fun day, unless they can take ownership of an associated bonfire."

The group has claimed that as the area is deemed one of high social deprivation, denying an application for funding is "targeting the most vulnerable section of society".

"The very fact that council are willing to deny a family fun day to the children of the West Winds, an area of social deprivation, makes clear that their overriding objective is to use funding as a means to slowly eradicate bonfires, rather than genuinely supporting the community to have a family festival on the 11th July", Mr Morrison claimed.

Ards and North Down Borough Council had not responded at time of going to print last night.