Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       At the meeting of the People and Communities committee on 12th September it was agreed that a report would be brought to committee regarding requests for dual language nameplates made by developers of new streets.  This followed a proposal from Cllr O’Neill provided below:

1.2       “At present, there is no policy regarding Bilingual Signage for New Developments in the city. Developers or Housing Associations might make an ad-hoc request to the committee; however, there is no overarching policy.

            Therefore, as a matter of practice, this council will amend its policy on naming a new street and will allow Developers/Housing Associations to request Bilingual signage as a part of their application for a new street, with the final sign-off being with the People and Communities Committee.”

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Members are asked to consider the report and agree to the process for dual language street sign applications made by developers on new streets as outlined.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Key Issues

            The power for the Council to consider applications to erect a second street nameplate in a language other than English is contained in Article 11 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 1995.

3.2       The Dual Language Street Signs Policy, agreed in 2022, allows for an application for dual language nameplates in a new street to be made by a developer: -

            ‘An application for the erection of a street sign in a language other than English may be made by an ‘Applicant’ which for purposes of this policy means: … (c) a developer of a new street. Any application submitted by a developer with regard to a new street will be considered by the Council in accordance with Section 3(xi) of this policy.”

3.3       Section 3(xi) of the policy states:

            “The Council will retain a residual discretion to decide to erect or not to erect a street sign in a language other than English in certain circumstances. This will be done on a case-by-case basis. It may be appropriate to depart from the procedures in this policy when there are clear reasons for doing so. This may include taking into account:

(a)    the views of the Occupiers of the street;

(b)   the results of the initial assessment for the application, including any identified potential adverse impacts on equality, good relations and rural needs;

(c)    consideration of the local context of the application;

(d)   any other Council policies or strategies related to the application; and

(e)    all material considerations relating to the application.’

3.4       The policy does not set out in detail how the applications would be processed, but states that applications would be considered in the order received. With the significant number of applications received, this would mean that any application received now from a developer of a new street would unlikely be considered until well after the street was occupied.  However, dealing with a dual language street sign request at the same time as a street naming application is being considered for a new street may be appropriate and may result in efficiencies in terms of process and cost savings.

3.5       The legislation and policy state that the views of occupiers will be sought.  Given there are no occupiers of the new street during development, no survey would be carried out.  In the cases where a developer applies, the standard initial assessment would be carried out to assess if there are considered to be any potential adverse impacts on the grounds of equality or good relations. 

3.6       Proposed process to be followed:

1.      For the naming of the street in English, the standard procedure for requesting a street name would be followed, where the Building Control Service writes to the developer asking for the application to be submitted once the works on site have commenced.

2.      The developer will have the option of also applying for dual language nameplates as part of this process. 

3.      The Building Control Service will process both requests together, including carrying out the initial assessment for the dual language application.

4.      Elected Members will get notification of these applications through the normal process.

5.      The translation will be requested from QUB as part of the processing of the application.

6.      A committee report would be drafted to include the appropriate information for both street naming and dual language applications and presented to P&C committee for consideration. Where possible, this would include any information on existing dual language street signage in the adjoining streets, and any other relevant information from the initial assessment carried out

7.      Members would consider the report in line with Section 3(xi) of the policy including any potential issues in relation to equality or good relations.

3.7       Financial and Resource Implications

            If applications for dual language street nameplates are approved at the time of street naming in English, the developer would be responsible for erecting the nameplates and would cover the cost.

3.8       Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

            Applications for dual language nameplates made by developers would go through the standard initial assessment process to identify any potential adverse impact on the grounds of equality and good relations.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendation at paragraph 2.0 of the report.