The Belfast Night Czar is “confident” that there will be full-time evening transport for overnight workers and city centre revellers by Easter next year.
Hospitality veteran Michael Stewart this week spoke at the annual Sound Of Belfast festival, in which he and other panellists discussed ‘Strategies for Protecting Women and Girls’ within the local night-time economy.
Now half a year into his post as the Night Czar, Michael believes that more regular late-night services could be on the way within just another six months.
Translink has confirmed late-night bus, coach and train services from Belfast and beyond will return this year across the weekends leading up to Christmas, but many campaigners have been calling for such routes to become all-year-round affairs.
Speaking at the event were (from left) chair Holly Lester, journalist Amanda Ferguson, Finola Dornan, superintendent of local policing in south Belfast, Amy Lamé, former night czar of London, and Michael Stewart, Belfast Night Czar
“I was in front of the economy committee maybe five or six weeks ago and they were asking for evidence as to why there should be a night-time bus service,” Michael said.
“A question recently asked of the CEO of Translink, Chris Conway, was ‘how much will this cost?’
“The answer was very clearly: £440,000 for the year.
“We collectively looked around the room to each other and said: ‘[that’s] not a lot of money in the scheme of things.’”
He continued: “I’m going to say on the record, I’m very confident that we will get it — I would like to think we would have it by Easter.
“That may seem a long way away.
“There would actually be no point probably launching it in January or February, because of the uptake, but then of course there are still lots of night-time workers then — it’s not just about hospitality. But, I think they need that time to get this over the line.
“Every department I’ve spoken to is willing to do it.
“The problem is, Translink is answerable to DfI (the Department for Infrastructure) and DfI isn’t giving the money, so… I’m hopeful that we will get this, because it’s a win-win for us and for the Executive.”
A Translink spokesperson said that the public transport provider “continues to work with all stakeholders with an interest in developing and improving the night-time economy to secure funding for a financially sustainable late-night network providing safe and attractive travel options for those who work at night and those who want to enjoy the great hospitality on offer”.
“We welcome strong public interest in the value of late-night public transport services, and we hope this support will help secure the appropriate funding to create a better connected, more sustainable and economically vibrant city for everyone,” they continued.
The DfI has also been approached for comment.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Michael said that while getting this public transport is one of his main priorities as night czar, his other key objective is “ending violence against women and girls, in whatever way I can, through communicating, advocating and networking”.
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Referencing the ‘Ask for Angela’ initiative, he compared it to “a sticking plaster” and said “more practical solutions” are needed.
‘Ask for Angela’ started in 2016, when it was rolled out in various parts of England and Wales.
In late 2022, it was formally rolled out to the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland, with the backing of the PSNI who designed the training package.
Under the initiative, it is hoped a person within a licensed venue can quickly alert staff to any harassment or inappropriate behaviour, by simply asking them for ‘Angela’, so that they can then get help from that worker.
However, a new report and undercover filming by BBC researchers found that in more than half of the London venues they visited, including major chains, staff failed to respond to the code word ‘Angela’. The BBC received similar reports from across the UK.
Belfast Night Czar Michael Stewart in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter
Michael is also currently the director of Common Market Belfast, a popular street food market that also has a bar space. He admitted that he didn’t think half of the staff within the business would know exactly what to do if a customer approached them and ‘asked for Angela’.
When asked what ‘practical solutions’ could be implemented, Michael suggested more CCTV and better training.
“It’s online training for staff. If someone comes in and says, ‘is Angela working tonight?’ Instead of saying ‘oh she doesn’t work here’, it’s going, ‘do you need help? Let me get my manager’.”
Amy Lamé, who recently stepped down as London’s first night czar — a position she held since 2016 — was also a guest speaker on the ‘Ensuring Women’s Safety’ panel.
A key topic was the need for a new stakeholder group which could be “able to hold the council to account; hold the police to account; hold the hospitality industry account; hold the SIA [Security Industry Authority] to account”.
“I’m not saying it’s an easy job, but there’s a space there for some leadership that could really make a positive difference in Northern Ireland,” she noted.
When asked afterward about the importance of holding the hospitality industry to account for its staff training on safety protocols, Michael said: “It’s not so much about accountability; it’s about re-emphasising the importance of it.”