A South Belfast Councillor has called for the protection of Belfast’s historic black and white street signs.
Councillor Gary McKeown says he will put forward a motion to Belfast City Council calling for the signs to be kept and maintained.
Cllr McKeown said: “Belfast’s traditional black street signs are an instantly recognisable part of our built heritage, bringing real character to the city. They feature in art, are a draw for tourists and have a special place in the hearts of residents across the community.
"When you think of Belfast, its traditional street signs are one of the iconic images that spring to mind. However, we have real concern about the absence of any proper protections to ensure their upkeep, which could put at direct threat this significant part of Belfast’s history and sense of identity.”
The Botanic Councillor said his plans would mean that the Council would then review all current old signs which are still in place, and move to give them protections so their upkeep can be maintained to stop them falling into disrepair.
“We are calling for Council to undertake a review of this issue and come up with plans to ensure the timely repair and upkeep of historic street signs, the creation of a register of all historic street signs in Belfast, and even potentially reinstate signs which would have originally been traditional black signs but have subsequently been replaced with generic street signs. We also want to look at whether the old tile signs should be listed to provide them with legal protection.”
