A DECISION to remove ornate street lights in South Belfast has been reversed by the Department for Infrastructure.
Earlier this year, the Department said it would be removing a number of street lights on the Ormeau Road to replace them with 'unpainted galvanised columns and modern LED lanterns'.
The planned move caused concern amongst local councillors, residents and businesses as the street lights that were being removed are more visually attractive and allowed for hanging baskets to be put up in the area.
This week, new Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said that the ornate street lights will be kept on the Ormeau Road, with new lighting added to them in order to improve their energy efficiency.
In a response to SDLP Councillor Gary McKeown, the Sinn Féin Minister said: "I appreciate your concern regarding the removal of the decorative lighting columns in Ormeau Road.
"In considering this, my officials have reassessed the situation and, in this instance, rather than replace the columns they have decided to retain them and replace the underground cables.
"The decorative lanterns will be replaced with equivalent LED versions, which will maintain the visual appearance of the lights while still allowing energy and maintenance savings."
Councillor McKeown has said he is delighted with the move by the Department, calling it a "victory for common sense".
He said: "I'm delighted that we've been able to get the ornate street lamps on the Ormeau Road saved. It's ridiculous that work had started to rip them out in the first place, so this is a victory for common sense.
"People living in the area are very proud and local businesses have been putting a real effort into making the stretch of the road north of the bridge a destination, so it was a real slap in the face when they discovered that the street lamps were going to be replaced with no consideration for the benefits they bring. Even worse, the replacements were designed to be generic, maintenance-free 'unpainted galvanised columns'.
"By keeping these lamps and regearing them with modern electrical units, we can get the benefit that the existing units bring both in terms of their look and character and the fact that they can be used for hanging baskets during the summer, while also getting modern, energy efficient lighting which is safe and fit for purpose.
"This is a win-win situation where the old street lamps have been saved but we also get proper lighting for this part of the Ormeau Road.
"I'm really happy for the local community that we have been able to save these street lamps, which are an integral part of the area."
