THE naming of the new east Belfast leisure facility at the former Robinson Centre site is to go to public consultation after a Sinn Féin motion was passed at Belfast City Council last night.
The issue was discussed at the council's People and Communities committee where it was agreed a city-wide consultation on re-naming the Robinson Centre would be held.
It comes after The Irish News revealed that the council had declared it would not be changing the name after legal advice deemed it did not breach council policy.
The old Robinson Centre on Montgomery Road, named after Mr Robinson in the 1980s by Castlereagh Borough Council, is being redeveloped into a new multi-million-pound leisure facility.
Council bosses had originally said the building would retain the Robinson name, but a motion by Sinn Féin councillor Charlene O'Hara calling for a consultation on the name to take place was passed by a council committee last night.
The issue will go forward to a full monthly council meeting.
Ms O'Hara said: "I am pleased that my motion on the naming of the leisure facility at the former Robinson Centre site has been passed at the People and Community committee.
"The council will now undertake a city-wide consultation on the name to allow rate payers to have their say on the name of the new facility."
SDLP activist Séamas de Faoite, who launched an online petition calling for a name change for the centre, said: "It is up to all of us to now ensure that we don't allow our civic spaces to become politicised in the future".
