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Belfast News: Cherryvalley Residents
Have Had Enough
In recent years Belfast has seen unprecedented
development with an apparent policy of find a space build some homes. In
the middle of such a policy however, Northern Ireland has witnessed the
destruction of its heritage and greenery.
In September 2007, the fight back begun and surprisingly was being
lead by those not known for such protest. However, when residents in Kensington
Gardens & Shandon Park (East Belfast) noticed that developers had moved on site on
a Saturday morning and had started to fell trees, over a century old,
all hell broke out.
Local politicians such as Sir Reg Empey, Michael Copeland, Naomi Long
& Lord Browne arrived with the police and pleaded with the
contractors to halt their work whilst the DOE make a decision on issuing
tree protection orders.
The residents claim that the contractor did substantial damage to the
trees early on, to ensure that they would have to be felled in any
event, however residents were successful in halting further felling as
tree protection orders were issued & served.
Naomi Long indicated that she was to raise the matter with Arlene
Foster and indicated that she had made previous calls for out of hour
provisions to be introduced.
East Belfast Editorial
We recognise the rights of a property owner to develop
their property but this is governed within the remit of the rights of
others. To allow a developer the right to destroy the fabric or ambience
of a neighbourhood without consultation should be unlawful and carry severe
penalties.
The site in question apparently has no planning application against
and local residents speculated that the trees were being felled in
preparation for one. It is certainly un-usual that contractors were
working on a Saturday to complete such work and just as un-usual that
the planning office has no out of hours provisions. coupled with local politicians
and the police being powerless to intervene, we must call for a change
in the law to stop any future occurrences like this.
The planning service need to introduce an out of hours service,
the police need to be given interim authority pending a decision from
the appropriate authority and the Heritage Service need to do their job
and protect our communities, neighbourhoods and of yes, HERITAGE, before
it is completely destroyed.
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