Borderless thoughts on Politics, Public Affairs, the media and anything else that matters from Conall McDevitt, SDLP MLA for South Belfast
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  • Border Politics

    Posted on November 13th, 2009 Conall McDevitt 5 comments

    The leaked memo from Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, to the First and Deputy First Ministers has been well reported. Behind it is another story of border politics and cash grabs on the southern fringes of Belfast City.

    Mr Poots and Mr Robison’s, new Lisburn – Castlereagh council was set to loose the valuable rates from the Forestside Shopping Centre in south Belfast to Belfast City Council under the original boundary proposals. This seems to have irked the DUP and Minister Poots who has decided to take Forestside back (and all its cash) and in return give Belfast the Robinson Centre and Dundonald Ice Bowl in the east of the city which are expensive to run and bring no cash in for the local authority.

    I live in South Belfast. The reality of is that those of us paying rates in this part of the city are paying for a big chunk of the Council’s services across the city. We shop in Forestside and yet will see none of the benefits from its rates coming back into the city it so relies on for its trade. What Min Poots is proposing is that Belfast rate payers take on another loss making leisure centre but be denied the rates from a shopping centre they all use.

    No wonder people think the boys on the hill are a bit of a joke.

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    5 responses to “Border Politics”

    1. Mark Finlay November 14th, 2009 at 09:01

      A very good point.

    2. Pootsiemander! « Splintered Sunrise November 15th, 2009 at 00:50

      [...] there is the monetary aspect of the land grab, as flagged up by Conall. In brief, the new boundaries were to see Forestside shopping centre go to Belfast, which would [...]

    3. picador November 15th, 2009 at 02:30

      Conall,

      I voted SDLP for the first time at the recent Euro election (the first NI election I have been eligible to vote in since the 1998 referendum). As a proud Belfast man I will never vote for the party again unless the leadership makes it absolutely clear that it will have nothing to do with Poots’s attempt to gerrymander the city boundaries.

    4. iCarryduff November 18th, 2009 at 01:37

      I second the above. I was a first time voter, and agree fully with Picador. Surely it MUST go against the parties principles?! The claim that “nationalist representation on Lisburn-Caslereagh council justifies gerrymander” ignores Brian Hanvey and Rosaleen Hughes. It also shows a line of negative thinking within the party itself which states that the party is unlikely to expand in the the council area in the furture. Is this really a confident party eager to tackle the issues of tomorrow? Is it really?

    5. More border politics @ O’Conall Street November 18th, 2009 at 18:48

      [...] bloggedlast week about Minister Edwin Poots decision to take Forestside (and all its rates) out of Belfast [...]

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