Mid Ulster council has been urged to use a tough new bonfire policy to tackle loyalist pyres built on its property without consent.
Mid Ulster District Council last year revealed plans to introduce a licensing scheme for bonfires located on land it controls.
The move sparked an angry response from some unionists and resulted in posters and flags opposing the council being put up in unionist areas.
Earlier this week a banner was put up on council property in Moygashel, near Dungannon, carrying the message “Moygashel bonfire builders will not bow to an IRA run Mid Ulster council”.
It is believed to be the first time any council in the north has attempted to regulate bonfires through such a scheme.
The new policy includes “conditions of land use, which set out the minimum requirements for safe, well-managed events, spanning risk assessments, event management plans, insurances and good relations issues".
The new policy came into force in March this year and council chiefs have appointed consultants to deal with bonfire builders.
However, a spokesman for the British Truth Forum last night warned that those behind several planned pyres across the district have refused to engage with them.
Dozens of pallets and other materials have been dumped at a council owned carpark in the Killymerron Park area of Dungannon in recent weeks.
SDLP councillor Denise Mullen last night called on the council to implement its new policy.
“I am wondering why the council has not enforced the policy,” she said.
"I would urge the council to use these powers."
UUP councillor Walter Cuddy, who resigned from a bonfire working group last month, said he was concerned about the council’s approach.
“The council policy is going to lead to more friction and an escalation of conflict and a section of our community will feel more alienated and marginalised, that’s why I stepped down from the all-party working group,” he said.
He said “trust” between the parties involved is at “zero level” and that a mediator is required.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “No request to use the council’s land at Killymerron has been received and the Council is aware of material which has been collected at the site.
“We will continue to adopt the risk-based approach which we have previously followed, working together with statutory partners, as our community engagement continues and we move towards an implementation plan for the new policy.”
In relation to the banner in Moygashel the spokeswoman said: “No request to use the Council’s land at Moygashel has been received and the council is aware of the banner which has been erected on its property.
“We will continue to engage with local communities on issues related to bonfires.”
