BONFIRE materials have been gathered at a site in west Belfast – three months before the Eleventh Night.
Pallets have been arranged in a circular shape on waste ground beside Cupar Way between the Falls and Shankill roads.
Other materials have been placed in the centre of the ring of pallets on the derelict site, which has been the location of a July bonfire in previous years.
It emerges after concerns were raised that pallets were being collected "much too early" for a notorious July pyre in the east of the city.
Firefighters were called on several occasions last week to extinguish materials set ablaze at Bloomfield Walkway.
The site has been a source of controversy for several years. Last July masked contractors were sent to remove the pyre flanked by police at a cost to taxpayers of more than £120,000.
A High Court judge had ordered Stormont officials to intervene after hearing that "sinister forces" in the east Belfast UVF controlled the towering pyre and it posed a serious threat to nearby homes.
Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson has said "local agreement" has been reached that there "will not be any substantial large bonfire on the Walkway this year".
He said an "alternative site" has been identified, and any pyre at the Walkway this July would be a "small token bonfire" incorporated into a children's party.
It also emerged last week that Bloomfield Walkway is to be closed until "mid summer" for "environmental improvements".
Work was scheduled to begin yesterday and will take "approximately 12-14 weeks to complete", Belfast City Council said.
The flexible date could see work continue through the loyalist marching season.
