Walls go up despite nationalist objections
Loyalists ``staking out territory''
By Mick Naughton.
The decision to build a 200 metre long `peace line' in
the Whitewell Road area on the outskirts of North
Belfast and plans for another across Ardoyne Road have
been bitterly criticised by nationalist residents and
local Sinn Fein councillors. They believe the measures
behind the planning of both 30 feet high structures
reflects the desire by loyalists to ``stake out
territory'' that is lying empty due to a population
shift by loyalists out of Belfast.
Danny Lavery, councillor for the Whitewell area, and
Mick Conlon, councillor for Ardoyne, recently completed
meetings with concerned residents.
According to Danny Lavery, the residents of the
Serpentine Road, who have bought their homes, do not
want this 30 foot wall blocking them off.
Mick Conlon added that Alliance Avenue residents have
been ``deliberately kept in the dark over future plans.
This could have been cleared up quickly but a planned
meeting between a Northern Ireland Office civil
representative, Colin Dunlop, and Alliance residents on
Monday never took place as Dunlop was told by the RUC
not to go into Ardoyne. I also wrote to Adam Ingram to
seek clarification and some sort of openness but to
date I have met with as good a piece of `stonewalling'
as anybody has seen.''
British minister responsible for `security' and himself
a former Orangeman, Ingram, in announcing the Whitewell
move, said he was acting on instructions from the RUC.
It falls to the RUC Divisional Commander to actually
recommend that a wall be built. In this case it is
known that at recent meetings in loyalist areas of
North Belfast loyalists demanded the walls be built.
As recently as this week British engineers have been
observed at Alliance Avenue marking out sections of
Ardoyne Road in preparation for a new gate and barrier
which would block off access for Catholic
schoolchildren attending both primary and secondary
schools. There is a real fear that the girls primary
school will become a `no-go' area if the gate goes up.
There are at present 14 `peace walls' in North Belfast,
and while these have largely been welcomed by residents
living close by, these new walls and gate have been met
with a consensus of opposition by both Alliance Avenue
and Whitewell Road nationalists.
At a cost of over £150,000 the `Whitewell Wall' will
close off Navarra Place with Serpentine Road, dividing
an area to the rear of Serpentine Gardens. The longest
section runs to the rear of houses in Serpentine
Gardens to Mulderg Drive and into Gunnell Hill. Costing
for the `Ardoyne Road Gate' is expected to be double
this figure at a time when communities are cash-starved.
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