Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       Members will be aware that the ILLUMINATE LED lighting system installed in 2013 on the north, east and west facades of the City Hall has been very successful thus far, both in securing a sustained 70% reduction in energy consumption and also in allowing the council to mark significant dates, occasions or achievements using bespoke lighting scenes.

 

1.2       Members are asked to approve a definitive set of criteria governing access to the system and to then allow these criteria to be applied consistently to all requests. Where exceptions are made for requests not meeting the agreed criteria problems can unintentionally be caused in terms of equality of access and also in terms of generating even more similar requests, which can then be difficult to refuse once precedents have been set.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to;

 

·        re-affirm the existing criteria set out at 3.4 below;

·        approve the inclusion of an additional criterion which provides that no applications in respect of medical or other support groups will be accepted and nor will requests to observe UN-recognised days where this is the sole reason for the request (i.e. where there is no local, Belfast-specific component);

·        endorse the approach to internal requests as set out at 3.9 below.

 

3.0       Main report

 

            Background

 

3.1       It is clear from social media and tourist feedback that the system has demonstrably enhanced the City Hall’s image as a notable landmark, and has also been markedly successful in terms of allowing the council to expand its outreach activities to specific groups and also to provide a platform for worthy causes and organizations etc.

 

3.2       However, as set out in a number of previous reports the system is increasingly attracting a wide range of additional requests which clearly cannot all be accommodated, and definitive governance arrangements are therefore needed.

 

3.3       These governance arrangements will need to allow for the updating of a list of standard days which are recognised each year together with requests from charities and other organizations made under the auspices of serving civic dignitaries, and also be flexible enough to allow requests arising as the result of external factors (natural disasters, terrorist atrocities, notable sporting achievements etc) on a one-off basis when this is appropriate. The current criteria governing access to the system are as follows:-

 

a)     on the 10 agreed annual days (attached at Appendix 1), plus any council-run events or on foot of requests made by any of the charities nominated by the council’s three civic dignitaries;

b)     where a charitable, community or other non profit-making organisation based in or having a strong connection to Belfast is celebrating a significant anniversary;

c)     where a sporting team or organisation with a connection to Belfast has achieved a significant accolade;

d)     where an event not itself organised by Belfast City Council but which can legitimately be regarded as being of significant benefit to the city from a promotional or tourism perspective is taking place;

e)     in other specific circumstances where approved by the Strategic Policy & Resources Committee.

 

            NB: in relation to requests falling under (b), (c) and (d) above the Committee has currently delegated authority to the Director of Property & Projects in these circumstances.

 

3.5       A very specific problem which has increased significantly in volume over the last 18 months is requests being made by a wide range of organizations, support groups and individuals in relation to specific medical conditions or diseases (e.g. autism, spina bifida, ovarian cancer, heart disease, stroke, epilepsy, haemophilia, motor neurone disease, muscular sclerosis, Down’s Syndrome, suicide etc). All are very worthy and important causes and very emotive issues and often involve inspirational individuals, but there over 140 of such diseases, conditions and other special days currently recognized internationally by the United Nations with more being added regularly (see http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/) and it would clearly not be possible to recognize all of these, so clear criteria are needed.

 

3.6       The sorts of requests referred to in 3.5 above do NOT fall within the criteria currently in use as set out above but many have nevertheless been facilitated, often at very short notice. In many cases the colours requested by the organizers are not recognized by the public in terms of any linkage to the condition in question, which leads to confusion (although of course the reason for each illumination is set out on the council’s website for those who wish to check).

 

3.7       By way of illustration of all of the above, a total of 203 requests have been received in addition to the agreed list of recognized days since the system went live in 2013.

 

3.8       Any new governance arrangements will therefore need to deal with the increasing number of these requests. The following revised criteria are therefore proposed:-

 

 

            External requests

 

3.8

1)     requests made in pursuance of their role by serving civic dignitaries on behalf of external charities and other organizations will be actioned as requested;

2)     the 10 pre-agreed days will require no additional permissions and will be actioned automatically each year (and this list of days may be varied by the Committee at its discretion);

3)     the existing criteria set out above (see 3.4) would be applied to all other external requests (and can be dealt with under delegated authority by the Director of Property & Projects) or referred to the Committee where this is felt to be necessary;

4)     no applications in respect of medical or other support groups will be accepted, and nor will requests to observe UN-recognised days where this is the sole reason for the request (i.e. where there is no local, Belfast-specific component);

 

            Internal requests

 

3.9       Where a request is made by an individual civic dignitary or elected member or officer to mark some specific event or occurrence (e.g. natural disaster, terrorist atrocity, one-off sporting achievement, birth/death of notable person etc) the Chief Executive (or his/her nominee) will liaise with party group leaders to see if a consensus to proceed exists. If so, the request will be facilitated; if not the request will either be rejected or, exceptionally, may be presented to the full Committee for a decision if time permits.

 

3.10     Where a request is facilitated either under delegated authority or by decision of the Committee this can be done on a ‘once-in-three-years’ basis to prevent annual requests for the same dates being made repeatedly.

 

3.11     It is, of course, understood that members may often be approached by worthy causes and organizations or by constituents seeking access to the system, and that a refusal may be difficult.

 

3.12     It is also the case that, where an application to use the system has been made but has been refused because the request does not meet the agreed criteria, the organizations or individuals involved will frequently seek to lobby members or civic dignitaries in order to have the original decision over-turned.

 

            Key Issues

 

3.13     The key issues are as follows:-

 

·        the ILLUMINATE system is generating a significant number of requests for access of types not foreseen when the system was implemented;

·        when bespoke lighting scenes are used too frequently the overall impact is diminished, and the overall status and image of the building as the council’s political and administrative headquarters may be adversely affected if the building is constantly changing colour, so effective and consistent governance is needed;

·        while the pre-approved days require little in the way of staff time or input, the many short-notice requests do consume significant time and generate corresponding costs;

·        it will therefore be necessary to seek to control access to the system more effectively if difficulties are to be avoided going forward.

 

3.14     Financial & Resource Implications

 

            There are no direct resource implications in respect of this report. However if the additional control measures recommended herein are not implemented it is clear that increasing staff time and expenditure will be needed

 

3.15     Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

            There are no direct equality implications arising from this report, although if additional requests are being approved this may give rise to potential inequalities of access.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.