COUNCILLORS in Belfast have voted in favour of bilingual signage at Olympia Leisure Centre.

The move was agreed at a meeting of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on Friday.

Irish and English signage received the support of 79.1 per cent of respondents to a public consultation. Olympia Leisure Centre sits next to Windsor Park on the Boucher Road. Bi-lingual signage at the Olympia was first raised in 2019 when the new leisure centre was opened.

SDLP councillor Carl Whyte said "the overwhelming support" for Irish language signage at Olympia is "hugely welcome and reflects the diverse city that we live in".

"People from a vast array of backgrounds visit this leisure centre daily and it’s important that everyone feels welcome, with inclusive signage being an important part of that," he said.

“Irish language use is growing right across our city in every community and this must be reflected in public spaces. I have visited the Olympia many times and it is a first class facility that we should all be proud of and this signage will add to that.

“While council is making some progress, the pace of delivery in recent years has been too slow. Serious questions must also be asked of the Executive who have thus far failed appoint an Irish Language Commissioner. This leads to entirely avoidable situations like the one witnessed recently at Grand Central Station."

The decision will have to be ratified by full Council in October.

A spokesperson for Conradh na Gaeilge said: "This is welcome progress on an issue first consulted on in 2019. That public consultation resulted in 60 per cent of respondents voting in favour of dual-language signage at the city-wide leisure centre at Olympia, with only 25.8 per cent voting in favour of 'English-only' signage.

"Following an incredibly drawn-out process, five years on the latest consultation has shown the amount of people supporting dual-language signage has grown significantly to 79 per cent, with those advocating an English-only approach declining to 16 per cent. The report also confirmed the 'city-wide' facility is regularly used by Irish language speaker from across Belfast, including Irish medium primary schools.

"Those results illustrate overwhelming support for an equal approach to English and Irish, side by side. That approach excludes no-one, and includes speakers of both languages. It is a balanced and shared resolution, in line with international expertise and guidance, one that demonstrates that shared spaces must be truly reflective of their various user-groups."