Plans to pedestrianise a busy area of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter have been put on hold, to much criticism from business and political representatives.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has announced that the scheme to ban vehicles from passing through the cobbled Hill Street in the city centre has been put on hold.
The street, which is particularly popular with tourists, contains several of Belfast’s most well-known bars and restaurants.
It had been previously pedestrianised for a trial period in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, proposals to permanently close the street to cars have faced years of delays.
Mr O’Dowd said the pause has been a result of “several competing work priorities”.
The Sinn Féin MLA also blamed “underfunding and austerity by the British government”, according to a letter seen by BBC News NI.
In the correspondence, which was sent to Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) in July, Mr O’Dowd couldn’t provide a definitive timescale for the issue to be resolved.
“My department has been operating in a difficult financial environment for a number of years due to underfunding and austerity by the British government,” he said.
“Unfortunately, given the current workload, competing business priorities, and reduced staffing levels, it is likely that the pedestrianisation of Hill Street will not progress as quickly as we would wish, and delivery of the scheme will be delayed.”
Michael Stewart, Belfast’s first night tsar. Picture by Peter Morrison
Hospitality operator Michael Stewart was appointed as Belfast’s ‘night tsar’ during the summer by three local business improvement districts, to help turn things around for the city’s nightlife.
He said he is both “disappointed and surprised” that the Department for Infrastructure “does not have the funding for a relatively small project”.
“Both capital outlay and infrastructure is required in our Night Time Economy, in what is considered as one of the busiest streets for pedestrians and traffic in Belfast,” he told The Belfast Telegraph.
On Wednesday, local SDLP councillor Carl Whyte questioned the ‘failure to deliver’ the plans.
“Since August 2024 alone the Department for Infrastructure has announced over £8m worth of road improvements, so it will come as a big surprise to people in Belfast that the small amount of money required to pedestrianise Hill Street still somehow cannot be found,” he said.
“Anyone in Belfast on a Friday or Saturday night can clearly see the danger posed by the combination of car traffic and large crowds of people on Hill Street and that full pedestrianisation, which is supported by all local businesses, is absolutely urgent.
“It’s simply not credible to blame the British government for every delay or failure from a Stormont department. In government, the SDLP brought forward this proposal and showed the benefits with a previous trial period. This is not a major project requiring a large investment so for the Minister to try and pass the blame for this delay rings hollow.”
Belfast entrepreneur Bill Wolsey, who owns businesses in the region such as The Merchant Hotel, The National and The Dirty Onion, told BBC News NI’s Evening Extra programme, that “the cost of this should not be an excuse”.
“There’s a benefit to the citizens of Belfast that this street is given back to them in a pedestrianised way and they can walk up it in a safe environment,” he said
“We need to take some action now because the street gets busier and busier.”