BELFAST City Council is to hand over pallets it was storing for loyalist bonfire builders to a firm that claimed ownership of them.
The Irish News revealed on Wednesday that the council is holding in storage around 300 pallets for loyalists building a notorious Twelfth pyre.
They are being kept in a council yard and were set to be returned to a city centre site close to Sandy Row in time for the Twelfth.
It led to the council facing accusations of "handling stolen goods", as many of the pallets are owned by the company Chep.
Its for-hire pallets, recognisable for their branding and blue colour, are used in the firm's pooling service for retail and industrial supply chains.
The council had initially dismissed concerns. It said there was currently "no evidence to substantiate claims made on social media that any of the pallets have been stolen".
But in a statement yesterday to The Irish News, Chep said it "retains legal title to Chep pallets".
"We appeal to the organisers of bonfires not to use Chep pallets," a spokesman said.
"Chep hires pallets to our customers under contract for the production, warehousing and distribution of goods to market.
"Chep equipment is only ever hired – never sold. The Chep business model involves equipment pooling and our pallets are a valuable asset."
The spokesman added: "We do not condone using Chep pallets for burning on bonfires, and we work closely with the local authorities and with bonfire liaison officers to recover our pallets from these sites whenever it is safe to do so.
"We make our best efforts to secure our pallets but also seek to ensure the safety of our people."
In response, Belfast City Council last night confirmed it would return the pallets to Chep.
Council vans removed the pallets at the weekend from the prominent bonfire site, near the Holiday Inn.
The council initially said some 1,500 pallets were removed, but later said that was a mistake and revised the figure to around 300 – many of which are Chep pallets.
Several councillors have expressed outrage, with party group leaders yesterday raising the controversy during a meeting with the council's chief executive.
It has been agreed that the issue will be discussed at next Friday's strategic policy and resources committee.
Sinn Féin councillor Jim McVeigh, the party's council group leader, said it would strongly oppose any attempt to return pallets to the bonfire site.
"The council could be leaving itself open to a legal challenge from ratepayers on health and safety grounds by facilitating this bonfire if anyone is injured or property damaged as a result," he said.
"The materials should not be put in storage. They should either be returned to their rightful owners or destroyed immediately."
Michael Long, the Alliance council group leader, said they "see great difficulty in any of that material going back" to the bonfire site.
He said they were "unhappy with the lack of consultation" with councillors, but are keen to "get an agreed way forward".
Belfast City Council said staff removed the pallets from the site "in agreement with the local community".
"Council works with communities and statutory agencies to minimise the negative impacts of bonfires at sites across the city," a spokesman said.
