Agenda and minutes

Apologies were recorded on behalf of Alderman McCoubrey and Councillors Milne and Nicholl.

            The minutes of the special meeting of 31st January and the meeting of 6th February were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st March.

Item Withdraen                    The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Copeland) declared an interest in agenda item 6. (g) V Youth Forum and Ur City 2 Update, in that her daughter was employed by the Greater Village Regeneration Trust. 

            The Chairperson declared an interest in the same agenda item in that he was associated with the East Belfast Community Development Agency.

            The Committee noted that the above item had been withdrawn from the agenda.

            The Committee was reminded that, at the meeting of the Council on 1st March, the following motion, which had been proposed by Councillor Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Heading, had been referred to the Committee for consideration:

"This Council acknowledges this year’s ‘Purple Day’ on Monday, 26th March, and recognises the challenges that many people in Belfast, of all ages, face living with epilepsy in all its different forms.

The Council will commit to ensuring that proper information is circulated to its staff and through its network of centres and offices, to promote a better understanding of the condition and provide advice on how to react if an epileptic situation arises which requires assistance.”

            The Committee agreed that a report would be submitted to a future meeting.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       Members may recall that, at the November Committee meeting, an offer was made from Covanta to visit the new waste treatment facility in Dublin.  After a discussion, Members decided not to take up this offer and took the opportunity to request an update on developments from arc21.  This report has been drafted to provide an update and the three Members who represent the Council on arc 21’s Joint Committee have been invited to attend this evening’s meeting.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to note the report.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       arc21 was originally incorporated and established in 2003 after a process of ever-closer co-operation between its eleven constituent councils.  Following local government reform (LGR) in 2015, it was reconstituted as the waste management group representing the 6 councils in the east of Northern Ireland.  arc21 works on behalf of its constituent councils with their officers to procure contractors to assist the councils in meeting their statutory obligations and to develop innovative approaches to waste management.

3.2       Prior to being incorporated, in February 2002, arc21 issued a draft Waste Management Plan for public consultation which considered various options and proposed a series of recommendations regarding how a series of waste management treatment/disposal facilities could be procured for the region in an integrated manner to ensure that the region's waste could achieve compliance with the statutory waste targets which had been timetabled until 2020. 

3.3       The Plan was subsequently approved and adopted by the councils in 2003.  The Plan was reviewed in 2006, following further public consultation, and was approved by the Minister of the Environment and by the councils.  In early 2014, the latest update of the Waste Management Plan was consulted upon after which the Minister approved it in June 2014 before councils ratified this in October 2014.  In 2015, this version was amended to incorporate the geographical changes arising from LGR (see Figure 1).  This Plan takes account of the NI Waste Management Strategy entitled ‘Delivering Resource Efficiency’ published by the DOE in 2013.  A copy of the arc21 Plan is available at http://www.arc21.org.uk/download/1/arc21%20WMP%20Sep%2015%20wv.pdf

            Figure 1: arc21 and its constituent councils

3.4       Since its formation, arc21 has awarded and managed contracts worth over £260M on behalf of the constituent councils which cover (i) organic waste (compost) from brown bins, (ii) a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for the recyclates from blue bin (iii) landfills (iv) glass and textile banks (v) street sweeps (vi) supplies contracts (corn starch bags, bins, &c) and (vii) services contracts (H&S reviews, &c).

3.5       The work of arc21 has been developed by a Steering Group composed of a small secretariat and Directors, senior staff from the constituent councils which is then considered and approved by a Joint Committee comprised of 3 Members nominated from each of the 6 constituent councils (see Table 1).  This gives the Joint Committee a total of 18 Members.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Assistant Director advised that, at the meeting of the Strategic Cemetery and Crematorium Working Group held on 28th February, the following key items had been considered:

·        update on the report of a fatal accident at Craighton Cemetery, Glasgow;

·        update in respect of the new Crematorium Development;

·        update in respect of the permanent memorial to mark Plot Z1 in the City Cemetery; and

·        it was noted that three water bowsers had recently been installed in those areas of the cemetery which had been most adversely affected by the disruption to the mains water supply at Roselawn Cemetery.

            At the request of a Member, the Assistant Director explained to the Committee the process around memorial safety inspection.  She advised that officers were aware of the importance of ensuring that the public were kept informed of the process that was being undertaken and of working with families to try and remedy any headstones which had been identified as being unsafe.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Strategic Cemeteries and Crematorium Working Group held on 28th February.

            The Director of City and Neighbourhood Services drew the Members’ attention to a Workshop Feedback report that provided a brief overview of the discussion that had taken place at the recent Committee Planning Workshop which had been held on Tuesday 27th February. 

            The Committee noted that the purpose of the Workshop had been:

·        to review the performance and achievements of the Committee Plan in 2017/18; and

·        to translate the priorities of the Belfast Agenda and Corporate Plan into a work plan for the Committee to deliver in 2018/19.

            A Member highlighted that, at the recent briefing session held on Monday, 26th February, which had been held for the Committee Members to discuss the Affordable Warmth Scheme with the Head of Fuel Poverty in the Department for Communities, it had been highlighted that the Building Control Section was currently in receipt of over six hundred self-referrals to the scheme that were waiting to be processed.  He highlighted that there was insufficient funding from the Department for Communities for the Building Control Section to allocate enough staff to deal with the volume of self-referrals being made to the scheme and he proceeded to outline various operational measures that could potentially be implemented which might help progress this backlog.

            The Committee noted that this would be a matter for the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee. 

            The Assistant Director advised that the Northern Ireland Assembly currently held the budget for the Affordable Warmth Scheme and reiterated that at this stage there had been no confirmation of funding for 2018-2019 but a reduction to the budget was anticipated, therefore, whilst additional staffing resources might help speed up the processing of the applications, it would not assist with the overall delivery of the scheme.

            Following discussion, the Committee agreed:

·        that officers would proceed to compile a revised Committee Plan for 2018-19, for consideration at the April meeting; and

·        to refer to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee the consideration of additional staffing resources to assist with the delivery of the Affordable Warmth Scheme.

            The Director of City and Neighbourhood Services summarised the contents of a report which presented a Quarter 3 financial position for the People and Communities Committee, including a forecast of the year end outturn. He advised that the detail included the Quarter 3 position for the Committee which showed an under-spend of £1,229k or (2.1%) of the budget, with the forecast year-end position being an under-spend of £807k (1%) which was well within the acceptable variance limit of 3%.

            The Director advised that the corporate departmental forecast position at Quarter 3 was an underspend of £557k (0.4%).  He reminded the Members that, as part of the Revenue Estimate setting process for 2018/19, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, at its meeting held on 15th December 2017, had agreed that non recurrent funding of £147k for Community Grants and £70k for Twilight Markets would be made available for 2018/19.  The forecast surplus position at the year-end was therefore an underspend of £340k.  

            The Committee noted that, given the £340k forecast surplus, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee had also agreed that no further re-allocations would be considered until the year end position had been reported to its Committee Meeting in June 2018.

            The Committee noted the report, the associated financial reporting pack and the update in respect of the Council’s corporate position.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 7th November, 2017, it had agreed, ‘in principle’, to mark out a temporary Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) pitch at Lower Botanic Gardens for Bredagh and St. Malachy’s Gaelic Clubs to use while Cherryvale was unavailable. 

            The Assistant Director advised that this agreement had been subject to discussion with the local Residents Association and the Friends of Botanic Gardens, and that the temporary pitch would be for the period up to the end of September, 2018, subject to favourable site conditions to be determined by the Community Park Manager. 

            The Committee was advised that an information session had been held on 9th January at St Bartholomew’s, Stranmillis Road, to provide residents with an opportunity to hear about the proposals and to complete a short survey.  In summary, she advised that, whilst the residents had reservations about the proposal, given that it was a temporary solution, there was no significant objection to it and this had been subsequently reported to the South Area Working Group.

            The Committee noted that the cost of marking out the temporary pitch and the erection of the posts was estimated to be in the region of £5,000 which would be met from existing budgets.

            The Committee agreed to the request from Bredagh and St Malachy’s Gaelic Clubs subject to:

·      a restriction on the level of use during any given week and an agreed programme of use with the two Gaelic Clubs;

·      the facilities only being available for use to those GAA Clubs that had been displaced at Cherryvale; and

·      a portable toilet facility being provided during the period of temporary use. 

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of the report is to provide an update to the Committee on the progress with the public access defibrillator pilot programme and seek agreement on priority sites for future provision in Council assets, where money becomes available.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the update on the pilot programme;

·        Agree that future provision of public access defibrillators will be undertaken where money becomes available to fund the purchase and installation of devices;

·        Approve the proposed locations for future provision of public access defibrillators in Council assets.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Update on Phases 1, 2 and 3 of public access defibrillator provision

            Members will be aware the Council has been undertaking a public access defibrillator pilot programme. As part of this programme defibrillators were initially installed in 6 parks in May 2016, namely:

·        Victoria Park

·        Waterworks Park

·        Fullerton Park

·        Tullycarnet Park

·        Boucher Road Playing Fields

·        Falls Park

3.2       A second phase of installation took place in September 2017 across a further 8 Council sites, namely:

·        Grove Playing Fields

·        Cherryvale Playing Fields

·        Blanchflower Stadium

·        Wedderburn Playing Fields

·        Woodvale Playing Fields

·        Henry Jones Playing Fields

·        Woodlands Playing Fields

·        City of Belfast Playing Fields

3.3       Installation at Botanic Park is also due to take place as part of the second phase. The installation at Botanic Park has been delayed due to the ongoing project at the Tropical Ravine.

3.4       A third phase of installation is due to take place shortly across a further 8 Council sites thanks to the kind donation received from the family of the late Mark Murphy, which covered the cost of buying the 8 defibrillators for these sites.

            The locations for the third phase of the programme were agreed through the Area Working Groups in January/February as:

·        Ormeau Park (public toilet area facing into the park)

·        Orangefield Park

·        Shore Road Playing Fields

·        Suffolk Playing Fields

·        Strangford Playing Fields

·        Loughshore Playing Fields

·        Musgrave Park

·        Ulidia Playing Fields

3.5       Proposal for future phases of public access defibrillator provision

            It is proposed that future public access defibrillators are installed in priority Council sites as money becomes available to fund the purchase and installation of the devices. The focus for public access defibrillators on Council sites continues to be on recreational facilities and those sites with significant public access or high footfall.

3.5       Proposed locations for the installation of future public access defibrillators in Council Parks/Playing fields include:

·        Dunville Park

·        Sally Gardens

·        Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park

·        Blythefield

·        Dixon Playing Fields

·        Alderman Tommy Patton Park

·        Clarendon Playing Fields

·        Glenbank Park

3.7       It was agreed at the People and Communities Committee meeting held on 5^th December 2017 that consideration would be given to the potential of extending defibrillator provision to other Council assets such as Community Centres.

3.8       Priority proposed locations for the installation of future public access defibrillators in Community Centres include:

·        Cregagh Community Centre

·        Dee Street Community Centre  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8a

            The Committee considered a report in relation to the provision of grit in snow/ice conditions.

            A Member noted the dedication and hard work of the staff who had been involved in the recent snow clearance/gritting during the recent spell of bad weather and asked that, on behalf of the Committee, thanks be conveyed to all the members of staff involved.

            Following detailed consideration, the Committee agreed:

·        to defer consideration of the report in respect of the provision of grit in snow/ice conditions to enable officers to obtain a legal opinion should the Council agree to assume additional responsibility for this function;

·        that the demand and potential location of grit boxes would be considered at the Area Working Groups;

·        that the Director would forward an e-mail of appreciation to all staff who had been involved in the recent snow clearance/gritting; and

• agreed that an update report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members on the planned Council and inter-agency operations to promote the positive participation in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations across the city.

1.2       Furthermore, the report will update Members on the progress of the review of the existing legislative framework in addressing on street drinking and possible additional powers to enhance those powers currently available in Northern Ireland requested at Committee on 7 June 2016.  This followed a Notice of Motion tabled at Committee which read:

            ‘Belfast City Council is concerned that it’s Bye-Law prohibiting the consumption of alcohol on the city’s streets, is on its own proving wholly ineffective in deterring this problem and criminalises those with an addiction.

            Accordingly, Belfast City Council would ask the Department of Justice to commence Part 5 of the Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2008 which gives powers to the PSNI to confiscate alcohol and extend those powers to Council Officers.  The Council also asked the Department of Justice to extend the power to issue fixed penalty notices for offences under the Council’s Bye-Laws so that the Council can adopt a more flexible approach to those detected consuming alcohol in designated places.’

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to;

·        consider the contents of the report.

·        consider if they would like the possibility of additional primary legislation to be more formally explored with central government, PSNI and other local authorities.

3.0       Main report

3.1       St Patrick’s Day Operation 2018

            Members will be aware of the complex multi-agency operation and strong partnership working that exists in planning and delivery of services around St. Patrick’s Day.  The multi-agency operation for 2018 is being co-ordinated from the Silver Command Room Musgrave Street PSNI Station (including the parade and concert).

3.2       The City Events Manager, Gerry Copeland, will be available for queries about the parade and concert and the Safer City Manager, Alison Allen, will be available for queries about the Holy Land and citywide parks/open spaces operation.

3.3       Operation Objectives

·        To reduce anti-social behaviour in the Holy land area

·        To reduce the number of people attending the Holy Land area

·        To reduce the amount of alcohol being brought in to the Holy Land area and being consumed

·        To provide effective clean up to all parts of the city

·        To reduce anti-social behaviour and consumption of alcohol in parks and open spaces

3.4       Council Activities

            In order to achieve our objectives Council Officers will carry out the following activities:

            (Mrs. V. Brown, Environmental Health Manager, attended in connection with this item)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to inform Members of the ongoing work in the city associated with suicide prevention in public places and to seek endorsement from Committee regarding this work and the Council’s role in it.

1.2       Protect Life Strategy

            The Council works closely with the health trusts, the police, the Public Health Agency and community and voluntary sector organisations in suicide prevention work in the city. It is a member of the Belfast Protect Life Implementation Group and while the Public Health Agency takes a lead in implementing the government’s Protect Life Strategy all partners are fully engaged in the work to minimise the impact these tragic deaths have on families, communities and local areas.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to;

·        note the information contained in the report and to agree the proposed approach for Cavehill Country Park, in particular consulting with local stakeholders and organising a spring programme of activities to promote the positive image of the Park.

·        grant approval for the free use of Ormeau Park for the Darkness into Light event subject to the organisers meeting all legal and statutory requirements and providing an event plan.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       Work to improve mental health and emotional resilience is well publicised but suicide prevention work less so. This is because reporting on suicide and work directly associated with it can be difficult. Harmful reporting by the media and speculation and inaccurate posting on social media can bring damaging attention to a death which is not only extremely distressing for family members but can increase fear and anxiety for individuals and communities. This can lead to further deaths by similar methods or at the same or similar locations and is why some of the work directly associated with suicide prevention and response is not widely publicised.

3.2       Following a number of public incidents in recent years involving open space in the city, the Council trained its Park Wardens and Safer Neighbourhood Officers in the internationally recognised ‘SafeTalk’ training to enable them to provide support to anyone they come across who may be feeling anxious or distressed. More recently the Council and a number of other partner organisations started working on a project specifically aimed at preventing suicide in public places.

3.3       The project team has been using the practice resource ‘Preventing Suicide in Public Places’, published in November 2015 by Public Health England (PHE). It contains a useful step by step guide to identifying locations and taking action. This involves the systematic collection and analysis of local data and developing an action plan for priority locations. The publication also contains practical examples and evidence of effectiveness of interventions to prevent suicide in public places.

3.4       The project team began by reviewing the information on deaths by suicide in public places  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8d

            The Assistant Director advised that a request had been received from a Local Organising Committee seeking permission to use some areas of Victoria Park to host the World 24 hour International Running Championships 2018, on 23rd and 24th June. 

            The officer detailed that, with the help of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee and a Local Organising Committee, Belfast had successfully hosted this event in the summer of 2017.  Forty nations including competitors, their management, family and spectators had attended which had contributed greatly to the local economy.

            She advised that this had demonstrated that Belfast had the ability to host a successful World Championship with high levels of participants, spectators, logistical support and media coverage.  The local organisers wished to build on this legacy by staging the International in June, which would also incorporate the National Championship.

            The Assistant Director reported that the Local Organising Committee were now meeting regularly with officers from Parks and City Events.  She reported that an event management plan had been developed and the Parks Event 24 Point Plan had been submitted. 

            The Committee was advised further that, due to the scale of the event, there would be some minor disruption to some of the existing activities within the park which she reported as follows:

·        the car park would be required to close for the setup of the race headquarters, marquees etc. in advance of and during the event (Topaz had offered use of their site for car parking on Airport Road West);

·        bowlers would be requested to arrange no home matches that weekend;

·        the tunnel would need to close to prevent access of vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians onto the race circuit;

·        alternative through access would be provided across the park to the Sam Thompson Bridge;

·        the Park Run would go ahead at 9.30 a.m. with the race starting at 1.00 p.m. on the Saturday afternoon; and

·        no other park bookings would be taken.

            The Committee agreed to grant limited access to some areas of Victoria Park for the safe and successful management of the International event subject to the organisers meeting all the statutory health and safety requirements.

            The Assistant Director advised the Committee that the Council operated grass pitches through direct management, Facility Management Agreements and Partner Agreements.  She detailed that, because of the seasonal nature of association football, the highest level of use was usually over the winter period.  Leagues that were supported by teams from across Belfast and beyond made a significant proportion of these bookings.  She advised that extended periods of winter weather often rendered pitches to be unplayable due to health and safety concerns or the requirement to try to protect the pitch to the end of the playing season.

            The Committee noted that calling off pitches was the responsibility of Parks Management and match referees.  Obviously, cancellations in advance impacted on teams and leagues through cancelled bookings and rearranged fixtures, cancellations on the day only added to the problem, with the additional expense of unnecessary staff, payment of officials, unnecessary travel for teams and officers, to name but a few.

            The Assistant Director detailed that across Europe winter breaks were often a common feature.  She explained that a winter break would require extending the playing season into the summer months and the impact of this would need to be considered and taken into account, as all pitches required a rest period each year in order to sustain them from season to season.

            The Committee granted officers authority to consult with stakeholders to develop options for a potential winter break period during which no grass pitch bookings would be available for league fixtures.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To update the Committee on the most recent work of the Belfast Youth Forum, including recruitment for the new 2018-2020 Youth Forum, and to provide an update on 2017/18 Ur City 2 monies.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Committee is asked to;

·        note the content of this report highlighting the work of the Belfast Youth Forum and agree to the new phase of Youth Forum recruitment.

3.0       Main report

3.1      This paper is an update on:

                                          i.     Outline arrangements for Youth Forum 2018-20 recruitment plan;

                                        ii.     the main activities of Council’s Youth Forum (YF); and

                                       iii.     funding awards under ‘Ur City 2’ programme 2017/18.

3.2       Youth Forum Recruitment

            Young people on the YF serve a 2-year term and in June the current 2016-18 cohort will end their term and a new cohort of young people will begin.  Recruitment for the 2018-2020 YF will start on 26th February with an open application process which will last for four weeks and close on 26th March.  Applicants will then be invited to a recruitment session in City Hall in April and will also take part in an interview with two outgoing YF members and a member of staff.  A total of 40 places will be allocated to young people aged 13-18 (four from each of the DEA’s).

3.3       Votes at 16 campaign

            In November 2017, Cllr O’Hara sponsored a Notion of Motion on behalf of the YF calling on Council to endorse voting rights for young people aged 16 and above and calling on the UK government to extend voting legislation to all 16 and 17 year olds in time for the next local government elections.  The YF made a deputation at this meeting advocating voting rights for 16 and 17 year olds and the motion passed by an overwhelming majority.  While already linking with the UK campaign, the YF want to start to build links with the official ‘Votes at 16’ campaign in the South.  The YF is currently planning a trip to Dublin for April 2018 to meet young people working on the campaign in the South and to visit Seanad Eireann to meet with the Seanadoiri who are currently working on a Bill to legislate for votes at 16 in southern Ireland.  The YF hope that by making these connections they can help to create a linked campaign working towards votes at 16 across all four jurisdictions. 

3.4       Mental Health Campaign

            The YF, along with young people from the Children’s Law Centre and NI Youth Forum, have formed a youth mental health steering group to run a joint mental health campaign called- ‘Elephant in the Room.’  (EITR)

3.5       Background to campaign

            EITR is informed by the NI Young People’s report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: ‘Our lives in our words.’  This report represented the views and experiences of 900 children and young people (aged 7-17yrs) who participated in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8g

            The Assistant Director advised that in 2006 a Belfast City Council Gaelic Football Team had been formed.  The team had competed in inter firm leagues from 2006 to 2010 which had included representation from other organisations such as the PSNI, City Bank, Northern Ireland Water and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.  Its greatest success came in 2010 when they won the Ulster section of the competition and were narrowly defeated in the all-Ireland semi-final.  

            The officer reported that, due to a number of factors, the team had not competed in the competition since 2010.  She detailed that, unfortunately, a former member of staff who was one of the founder members of the team was now ill and a reunion match had been organised to raise funds for the Northern Ireland Hospice.    

            The Committee granted permission for free use of pitch 3 and the changing rooms at the Cherryvale Playing Fields to host a charity reunion Gaelic football match in aid of the NI Hospice on Friday, 23rd March.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To advise Committee of extended support for delivery of the participation strand of Sport NI’s investment programme called Everybody Active 2020 Strand 1 (EBA2020) into Year 3.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Agree to the continuation of the delivery of the Everybody Active 2020 Strand 1 programme to 31 March 2020 in partnership with our delivery partners, subject to funding being approved for release from Sport NI.

·        To agree to some additional programming to be coordinated by Council officers (Programme Manager and Coordinator) where there is identified any potential underspend in budget or underperformance against any of the KPIs by our delivery Partners. 

3.0       Main report

3.1       Sport NI programme

            Sport NI commissioned Belfast City Council, along with other Council areas, to deliver the participation strand of Everybody 2020. The aim of the programme is to increase quality opportunities for targeted groups to develop and sustain participation in sport across key life-course transitions.

3.2       Belfast’s programme has specific targets which identify women and girls, people with a disability and people living in areas of high social need as priority. Participation evidence highlights disparities and inequalities within those sectors. Committee authorised officers to develop and commission a blend of providers through a public process to deliver Belfast’s Everybody Active 2020 targets. Officers have once again commissioned a diverse range of partners with consideration to developing programmes which prioritise participation for women/girls in the 14-25 age group, during which drop off levels are greatest.

3.3       Participation Targets 2018 – 2019

3.4       Programme delivery will be linked to other investments including workforce development, outdoor recreation infrastructure, small grants and Peace IV to improve the outcomes from EBA2020.

3.5       Sport NI has recently indicated a budget of £468,074 for delivery of EBA2020 in Belfast for Year 3 (2018/19). We expect to receive our letter of offer by mid-March 2018.

            The Director reported that since 2002, the cities of Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast had participated in the annual Tri-Cities Golf Event.  He advised that this event rotated round each of the three cities on an annual basis and the 2018 event was scheduled to be held in Belfast.

            The Committee noted that the event was a golf competition between Elected Members and senior officers from each of the Councils.  The teams would all travel at their own expense and would meet their own accommodation costs.  No subsequent allowance or expenses of any kind would be paid to any of the participants.

            The Director outlined that each year the host city met the cost of green fees for the visitors and also provided prizes and a meal in the clubhouse following the competition.  The first day of the event would be held at Malone Golf Club and the second day would take place in Dunmurry Golf Club. 

            The Committee agreed to host the Tri-Cities Golf Event in Belfast from 30th – 31st August and to meet the costs of the green fees, prizes and a meal in the clubhouse, estimated to be in the region of £6,000.