A decision to approve a special “Christmas Ice Experience” at Botanic Gardens this winter has been reversed after pressure from local community groups.
Last month elected representatives at a secret Belfast City Council committee meeting approved the 11 week event for the popular south Belfast park.
At the September meeting of the Belfast City Council People and Communities Committee, during secret “restricted items,” elected representatives approved a request from Scottish based event hire and catering company Jordan Events Ltd to host a “Christmas Spectacular Winter Ice experience” in Botanic Gardens from November 15 to January 2.
The proposed event was to include Christmas market stalls, an “ice museum”, an ice rink and slide, and a big wheel. It would have had a public bar, a “food offering” and “décor features.”
However, during another restricted item, again away from the public at the monthly meeting of the full council at City Hall on October 1, elected representatives agreed to return the decision back to the People and Communities Committee.
At the People and Communities Committee meeting on October 8, once again during a secret restricted meeting away from the public, councillors decided to reverse the decision and not allow the event.
Asked if and why the decision was reversed, the council replied: “A decision was taken by elected members at the People and Communities Committee on Tuesday, October 8, not to proceed with a proposal to host a winter event at Botanic Gardens. This decision is subject to ratification at Council.”
Councillors who have been asked about the decision have decided to not make a comment on the record before the minutes of the latest committee meeting have been released at the full council in November.
It emerged the council and elected members were heavily lobbied by local community groups who spoke out against the event.
An email sent by a local community representative to the council states: “The minutes of the committee mention “no closure of the park” but the primary concern of park users throughout the day is the closure of the open spaces in the garden.
“If the great lawn – the only large open green space in the gardens – is inaccessible to the families, pet owners and other stakeholders using the park, it does feel like an undermining of Belfast City Council’s own Open Spaces Policy.
“Closing down some of the only open spaces available in this part of the city would be a profound blow to the people enjoying and relying upon the gardens as their only outdoor space.”
It adds: “I would also ask members to consider the extent of the event – nearly three months of continual disruption, in gardens which have already been used for concerts, festivals, fairs and a panoramic wheel for four months.
“The minutes speak of wanting to “animate” the space, but I would suggest that gardens which house a museum, a palm house, a tropical ravine, a sunken garden, a rose garden, and a great lawn for meeting and recreation don’t require further animating.
“The beauty and appeal of the gardens are self-evident and obscuring this with a continuous stream of events seems a genuine pity. I would also suggest that the gardens are given time to recover from recent intensive event use.”
It adds: “A further concern is that the infrastructure surrounding the gardens can’t support an influx of people. There is extremely limited parking for residents, business users and owners and this event would exacerbate an already significant local issue.”
It is thought the reverse decision by councillors, taken in secret sessions at City Hall, was to spare further blushes after the controversy of the Botanic Winter event a few years ago.
Two years ago Belfast City Council was told it had “lost the trust” of Botanic residents after the Bright Lights event in Winter 2021/22.
At City Hall in June 2022 a spokesperson for residents living around Botanic Gardens gave a searing critique of the council’s decision to give up the park to the Bright Lights in Botanic Gardens event, run by a private company, from November 13 2021 to January 9 2022.
The event illuminated the public park with a trail involving more than 18,000 bulbs, 25,000 metres of neon tubes, 10,000 metres of tree lighting and 160 lanterns, all soundtracked by loud Christmas-themed music.
Many questioned the ticket pricing – with the cost for a family of two adults and three children going above £85. Local residents made despairing complaints to elected representatives concerning the noise of the event, night and day and the use of park space.
Later in June 2022, the festival was cancelled by councillors from having future events. In another secret committee meeting, elected representatives voted not to have the festival again, despite having previously agreed with the organisers for it to be held in Botanic Gardens during Winter 2022-23 and Winter 2023-24.