WHILE the upcoming Fleadh Cheoil is a much welcomed development for Belfast, for those of us with short term lets in our community it also brings a sense of dread.
In my small inner city community of tightly packed two up two down terraced houses there are eight short term lets. None of them have planning permission to operate as short term lets. Last year I reported one operating in my street to Planning NI and Tourism NI. Nothing has been done. This very busy short term let is still operating at full tilt and it still does not have planning permission.
As well as wonderful music what the Fleadh brings to our communities is full occupancy short term lets. What that means for us is the noise of late parties blasting through the thin partition walls or our homes, as well as anti-social behaviour and parking disruption on our streets. To make matters worse, there is no one to complain to about all of this. Most of the short term lets are owned by absentee landlords and managed by third party agencies who meet our complaints with indifference or rudeness.
If you live beside or close to a short term let you are in a constant state of anxiety about what kind of tourist will be staying in the property and what level of disruption they will cause. Fleadh Cheoil has heightened this anxiety in my community.
Communities like mine breathe life into the city centre. We are the very heartbeat of its existence. Those running the city must make a decision: Do you want Belfast to be a mere playground for tourists who are passing through or are you going to step up to protect and nurture your inner city communities?
Bring on the music and fun of the Fleadh but please spare a thought for those of us with short term lets blighting our community.
Úna MacNulty
Belfast
BT12 4AG
