The people of Belfast are being consulted on opening hours for the new Forth Meadow Greenway as well as four major parks across the city.
Belfast City Council is seeking the views of residents and users of the Forth Meadow Community Greenway on its operational opening hours. Next month the council will be further consulting on opening hour pilots for Ormeau Park, Falls Park, Woodvale Park and Belmont Park.
The 12km Forth Meadow Greenway, funded by the £6.2 million EU PEACE IV programme, connects open spaces in north and west Belfast, linking Clarendon Playing Fields to the new Transport Hub in the city centre. With lighting installed along its main route, the greenway offers potential for 24/7 accessibility.
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Currently, the greenway’s public access gates follow the council’s standard dawn to dusk opening hours. This consultation will determine if extended hours are appropriate and explore any local factors influencing the decision.
The consultation will specifically address access gates in four of the greenway’s five sections: Glencairn Park to Forthriver Linear Park, Ballygomartin Road to Springfield Road, Springfield Park (Springfield Dam) to Falls Park, and Bog Meadows Nature Reserve
The findings, along with recommendations for extended opening hours, will be presented to elected members in the Spring. If approved, a one-year trial of any changes will be conducted, followed by a second phase of consultation to inform final decisions.
To ensure safety and security, a 'Forth Meadow Community Greenway Gate Closure Protocol' will also be established in collaboration with the PSNI, allowing closures in response to security assessments. Users of the greenway are asked to share their views during the consultation period, which runs until February 12 here
Alternatively, there will be in-person information sessions at Highfield Community Centre: Wednesday 22 January, 4-8pm, Springfield Park Community Building: Thursday 23 January, 4-8pm and Falls Park Bowling Pavilion: Thursday 30 January, 4-8pm.
An opening hour pilot initiative exploring extended 24-hour summer opening hours at three parks sites in the city, Ormeau Park, Falls Park and Woodvale Park, was initially agreed to in 2020.
It was not delivered as planned due to the COVID pandemic and recovery period. The council said it was due to “restrictions impacting officer’s ability to carry out consultation at that time as well as internal resourcing pressures.” A trial however was carried out in Botanic Gardens, which saw some antisocial behaviour issues after several weeks.
The opening hours consultation for the four parks will include an online survey on the council’s Yoursay website, and drop-in information sessions which will be promoted via social media and posters in the local areas. The council says: “In parallel key community stakeholders will be encouraged to feed into the process and parallel engagement with PSNI will also take place.”
For all four parks, the online survey will be from Wednesday February 3 to Wednesday March 5, and there will be four drop-in information sessions. They will be at Woodvale Park Pavilion on Wednesday February 19 between 4.30 and 8.30pm, at Falls Park Bowling Pavilion on Thursday February 20 between 4 and 8pm, and at Ormeau Park Bowling Pavilion on Wednesday February 26 between 4 and 8pm. The drop-in session for Belmont is yet to be confirmed.
A council report states: “Although both Falls Park and Woodvale Park now benefit from sufficient lighting infrastructure on their path networks, Ormeau Park and Belmont park do not. Members are reminded that the installation of any new lighting infrastructure would require significant capital investment.”
It adds: “(There is) a unique opportunity to consider synergies with the ( Stormont ) Department for Infrastructure’s forthcoming delivery of a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the Lagan River over the next few years, connecting the adjacent river back to the city centre via the Gasworks, in tandem with other anticipated cycling network improvements.”
It states: “Despite the absence of lighting within Ormeau Park and Belmont, park officers are confident that progressing this consultation will provide a valuable opportunity to gather community and stakeholder views on the potential introduction of park lighting and how it would be used; as well as initial views on potential gate/route options that could be lit and potential extension to opening hours.
“The outcome of the consultation will inform any capital scheme that may be considered for development in the future, along with ecological studies of the parks.”
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