A LOCAL councillor has welcomed work that has started to replace solid security gates close to a West Belfast interface.
Construction staff have begun work at North Howard Street which will see the eventual removal of the long-standing peace gates to make way for a new "see through construction".
Work at the interface, which separates the Falls Road from the Shankill area, comes a month after serious disorder took place just a short distance away, at the other end of the peace wall at Lanark Way.
Loyalist and nationalist youths clashed over two nights, throwing missiles at each other and police.
The gates are erected in an area where there was once a permanent British Army presence at the North Howard Street Mill Barracks.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Claire Canavan said: "I welcome the upgrading of the gates at the interface and that it was done in consultation with local residents."
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The ongoing work is scheduled replacement of vehicular and pedestrian access gates at the Shankill end of North Howard Street.
“The solid security gates are being replaced with a see-through construction with the addition of a pedestrian access gate on one side of the pavement.
“It is hoped that the scheme will improve the visual amenity of the area, improve health and safety for pedestrians and enhance visibility for motorists driving through the gates, thereby improving community safety in the area."
