Northern Ireland

Outdoor gym equipment removed from Belfast park three times in four years due to nearby bonfire

Orangefield Park in east Belfast where outdoor gym machines were removed by Belfast City Council ahead of the lighting the Eleventh Night bonfire
Orangefield Park in east Belfast where outdoor gym machines were removed by Belfast City Council ahead of the lighting the Eleventh Night bonfire Orangefield Park in east Belfast where outdoor gym machines were removed by Belfast City Council ahead of the lighting the Eleventh Night bonfire

OUTDOOR gym equipment in a Belfast park has been removed and re-installed three times in four years due to a nearby loyalist bonfire.

A large pyre in Orangefield Park in the east of the city has been repeatedly built just metres from a popular outdoor gym area despite concerns being raised.

Moving the gym equipment and re-installing it each year has cost Belfast City Council several thousand pounds.

The move cost £700 in 2018 and £700 in 2019, with the total cost over three years expected to be more than £2,000 once this year's figures are taken into account.

The bonfire was not lit last year after coronavirus restrictions saw the cancellation of the Twelfth demonstrations.

Equipment including a pull-down machine and a cross-trainer were taken from the site this year "as a precaution", a spokesman for Belfast City Council said earlier this month.

However, the equipment is expected to be re-installed in the same spot.

Alliance councillor Michael Long requested figures from the council about how much it had cost to move the gym equipment.

He said residents had raised concerns as far back as April that the heat of the bonfire could damage the gym.

"Given the huge area of parkland nearby, the removal of the equipment rather than the shifting of the bonfire about 100 yards is absolutely crazy," he said.

Mr Long said material for the bonfire is deposited at the site several months before the bonfire is lit.

"That bonfire has been there a long time," he said.

"I think people would be happy enough if the bonfire was set up a few days before. No one is asking to ban the bonfire but why does it have to be beside gym equipment?

"It means the gym cannot be used for quite a long period of time, in addition to the fact that it has to be moved every year."

Mr Long also questioned why the council kept re-installing the gym equipment at the same site.

"If they're going to move it every year it would make sense to put the gym somewhere else slightly further away from that bonfire site," he said.

"£2,000 that could have gone into our parks has been totally wasted.

"It seems ridiculous to me."

Mr Long said he would raise the issue at a meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee next month.