Northern Ireland

Attorney General intervenes in Belfast Chinese Consulate wall row

Attorney General John Larkin, and right, the Chinese Consulate on Malone Road in south Belfast
Attorney General John Larkin, and right, the Chinese Consulate on Malone Road in south Belfast Attorney General John Larkin, and right, the Chinese Consulate on Malone Road in south Belfast

THE Attorney General has intervened in the diplomatic row over an "eyesore" metal wall erected around the Chinese Consulate in south Belfast without planning permission.

John Larkin's office said international laws giving consulates diplomatic immunity do not exempt them from local planning legislation.

It said refusal to comply could result in "action taken in respect of its status" as a consulate by the British foreign office.

The metal boundary, which replaced a hedgerow, has caused uproar in the leafy Malone Road area since it was constructed in recent weeks.

A planning enforcement investigation has been launched and the city council has raised the dispute with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The consulate has said the metal boundary is temporary, but acknowledged it is considered an "eyesore".

It said it hopes to build a permanent wall that both meets its security needs and respects the character of the surrounding neighbourhood.

But residents, who are taking legal advice, fear the consulate will seek to ignore planning rules by claiming diplomatic immunity.

Plans submitted by the consulate in May last year, but later withdrawn, showed proposals for an almost 10-feet-high boundary wall topped with railings and razor wire.

The area is a planning conservation zone in which development must meet stricter rules to be in-keeping with its existing architectural character.

The consulate has defended its construction work by citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Michelle Malcomson, principal legal officer at the Office of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, wrote to Belfast City Council on Mr Larkin's behalf.

"The issue discussed is of some general public importance," she wrote.

"I note that formal enforcement action is not being considered at this stage and I should be grateful if you would advise why this is so. There is no bar in international or domestic law to an enforcement notice being issued against the consulate.

"The inviolability of consular premises under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 as incorporated into UK law by Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 does not exempt such premises from the requirements of domestic planning law.

"While it is true that coercive action cannot be taken to enforce any court order against consular personnel (these could not, for example, be committed for contempt of court) that is legally separate from the duty of the consulate to comply with planning and environmental law, and the duty of the council to consider properly the full extent of its own powers and duties in this area.

"If the consulate were, for example, to refuse to comply with an enforcement notice properly directed to it, this might ultimately result in action taken in respect of its status by the FCO."

The Chinese Consulate is based at MacNeice House, a listed building which dates from 1889.

Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown said: "It is a sign of the seriousness with which the issue is being treated that the Attorney General has intervened.

"Belfast City Council is prepared to take enforcement action. Hopefully that won't be necessary.

"I would urge the consulate to show better signs of neighbourliness in the future."

Residents have asked the consulate to share their boundary plans and agree a structure that complies with the conservation area.

In a letter to residents, the consulate acknowledged the structure is regarded as an "eyesore, for which we fully understand the inconvenience that has arisen thereof".

"Henceforth, we have been working with the department concerned to try to achieve a solution, which will be in-keeping with city council regualtions, the existing practice regarding diplomatic and consular premises, and of course with the character of the estate and the neighbourhood environment in mind," it said.