A MAJOR earth-moving operation at a derelict Belfast site that was the centre of an asbestos scare last summer has failed to stop bonfire builders returning.
The Andersonstown News visited the Donegall Road site this week but failed to gain access via Monarch Parade, which was the main entrance last year.
Gates at that entrance have been locked and reinforced, while behind them tons of earth have been moved to form a large embankment to stop the entry of people, bonfire material and vehicles.
But 200 metres away an access point big enough to allow the entry of people and pallets has been forced in gates at the Maldon Street entrance on the south side of the site. We gained access by squeezing past a number of pallets placed at the hole in the gate as a temporary block.
The former car-park on the site where the large amount of asbestos was to be found last year has been compre-hensively cleared, so much so that the parking bay paint markers are once again visible. And while the Northern Ireland Environment Agency says the site “currently presents minimal risk” to to nearby residents, it warned that accessing the secured site still poses an asbestos risk. The NIEA added that in their estimation it may take two years for the site to be fully decontaminated.
“For public health reasons, NIEA urges that unauthorised persons should not, under any circumstances, access this site,” an NIEA spokesperson said.
“Unauthorised access to the site could amount to a criminal offence.”
A large amount of the more sturdy and expensive blue and red ‘Chep’ pallets have been piled on the same spot as last year’s bonfire – right next to an electricity substation and close to the M1 and the Royal Victoria Hospital. The substation serves both the RVH and the City Hospital. The pallets are considerably more costly than the more flimsy unpainted pallets. They remain the property of Chep as the pallets move from business to business and removing them from commercial premises for a bonfire is an act of theft.
A hut to protect bonfire builders from the elements has already been built into the pallets, four months before the bonfire is due to be set alight on July 11th.
Bonfire pallets with an electricity substation, the M1 and the RVH in the background
Environment Minister Andrew Muir has pleaded with community and political representatives in the Village to act now to stop a repeat of last summer’s angry scenes.
The Alliance MLA said they should “provide the leadership needed to ensure everyone obeys the law and heeds the warnings issued to keep people off the site”.
He continued: “I am deeply concerned that, despite warning signage being erected and NIEA urging people to stay away from the Meridi Street site, it appears that people have entered the site, and that pallets have been deposited there.
“Unauthorised access to the site could amount to a criminal offence. Given the ongoing risk to the safety of people accessing the site, NIEA would again urge members of the public not to access it under any circumstances.”
The scene is now set for a repeat of last year’s ill-tempered stand-off when a Belfast City Council decision to remove the deadly material was reversed when police said they would not assist in the operation as it was too dangerous.
Despite clear warnings about the danger posed to young people spending large amounts of time on the site during the summer holidays, no political or community reps from the local area stepped forward to demand the bonfire’s removal.
A number of measures were put in place to mitigate harm to those accessing the site. At first plastic sheeting was placed over the asbestos, held down only by pallets taken from the nearby bonfire. Tons of quarry dust were then poured over the asbestos.
