|
"Improving" the Cave
Hill?
How often do we need to say it? How many times must we emphasise
the benefits of Cave Hill in its present state? The answer is every
time some crackpot scheme to "improve" it surfaces. There are forces
and influences which cannot leave something like Cave Hill alone without
wanting to shape and mould it. Leave it alone, we say.
I don't mean to imply that Cave Hill does not need attention. Like
any wild resource with public access, it needs to be managed. But
the management should be minimal: it is enough to ensure that the
paths are not dangerous, fences maintained and that the trees and
vegetation are kept from overwhelming everything. There also needs
to be an element of control on some of the younger, rowdier, elements
who use the Park. We, in the Cave Hill Conservation Campaign, have
long argued that Belfast City Council needs to have a management plan
in place which will set out values and standards to ensure this management
and against which any new proposals for the use of the hill should
be assessed.
For example, the land to the west and north of the big Wallace Quarry
and stretching up to the summit has, until recently, been grazed by
rare breeds of cattle from the zoo. This grazing ensured a measure
of control in those grasslands. This practice has now stopped and
this area is badly in need of such regular grazing lest it revert
to impassable scrub. A management plan should incorporate such a strategy
and make replacement of cattle a priority.
Such a plan would also ensure that the latest resurrection of the
plan to put a cable car up to the top of Cave Hill from the proposed
Giant's Park would never see the light of day. This particular proposal
is daft. An earlier proposal to run a cable from the zoo to the summit
was dismissed by the Council on the grounds of cost. The present proposal
would be much more expensive. Moreover, it would present a hazard
in that it would have to cross ten motorway lanes and a considerable
number of houses, to say nothing about the visual intrusion and the
disruption of wild habitat on the hill. Such a management plan would
also have given short shrift to a recently-hatched plan by the Council
for mountain bike tracks. The proposal would have brought the walking
public into contact with fast bikes (the proposal did envisage keeping
them largely - but not completely - isolated from the public) and
would have acted as a Mecca for bike riders from all parts of Northern
Ireland. Happily, this idea has died for the moment, but it was under
consideration for an uncomfortably long time.
The eruption of these proposals from time to time emphasises the
need for a body such as us, a body which can examine proposals and
alert both our members and the wider public as to the threats. In
order to ensure an efficient information flow, we are asking all current
members who have e-mail addresses to tell us. Quite a number have
already: if you are of that number, you will have already received
summaries of our monthly meetings. If not, you can reach us through
our website or contact me directly at cormachamill@ireland.com
Cormac Hamill
|
|
Chapel of the Ressurection: Progress
at last
As an imposing figure on the townscape of North Belfast it is difficult
not to notice the Grade B Listed Building Chapel of the Resurrection
between Waterloo and Innisfayle Parks (off the Antrim Road) and under
the shadow of Cavehill. Those frequenting the area will also have
noticed that, until very recently, the Chapel has been an eyesore,
lying empty and neglected almost to the point where the fabric and
structural integrity of the building was brought into question and
the loss of Belfast's second Listed Building looked imminent.
As an ongoing feature of the Cave Hill Campaigner, we are pleased
to inform you that as of 18th August 2006 new hope and a new lease
of life have been secured for the Chapel. At this date planning permission
was granted with conditions for the Chapel as part of a larger housing
development whereby the building is to have its facades restored to
their original glory and converted internally to three apartments.
In accordance with a condition of the planning permission, works to
repair and renovate the Chapel commenced within three months of the
date of the permission and are being overseen by one of Ulster's top
Conservation Architects Mr Dawson Stelfox. In a recent interview for
a local newspaper Mr Stelfox spoke positively about the restoration
and future of the Chapel. In regards the restoration of the fabric
of the Chapel, Mr Stelfox highlighted the main problem as being the
roof and its supporting beams stating that the roof slates and rotted
timbers had been removed, with internal props being put in place to
secure the building in order to make the Chapel's shell safe and watertight.
Mr Stelfox also noted that following the refit of the roof the building
will be let dry out for a year and only then shall the seven huge
arched windows and fantastic rose windows be replaced. In the meantime
the exterior stonework will be fully restored as accurately as possible
by the quality stonemasons available in Northern Ireland. In addition
to the exterior, the potential to retain and restore existing internal
detailing such as the stencilled ceiling, upper wall embellishments
of fleurs-de-lis and Gothic star-shaped decorations also exists.
While ambiguity now surrounds the intention of the developer to fully
adhere to the planning condition of three apartments, there is potential
that he may re-apply for use as a single dwelling. We intend to monitor
progress and keep you informed as to the future of this fine piece
of our architectural heritage.
|
|
Police Blitz the Park
You may have heard an interview on Good Morning Ulster on Tuesday
17 April when I and another committee member, along with two teenagers,
spoke to reporter Barbara Collins at the Belfast Castle. The item
was sparked by continuing concerns about young people gathering in
the Cave Hill Country Park and other visitors feeling intimidated.
It coincided with an announcement from the PSNI that they will blitz
the park over the next few months in an attempt to deter the drinking,
drug-taking and vandalism. The two of us made the point that there
were indeed problems in the Park and we welcomed the police initiative
- we felt that a public space such as this needs management and that
such management must necessarily involve the police. The two teenagers
took the entirely reasonable view that not all teenagers abused the
facilities and that it was unfair to tar them all with the same brush.
It does not, however, take many unruly teenagers in the grounds to
create a feeling of intimidation, especially in lone women and young
families.
I reported that on the previous Saturday, I had seen the PSNI taking
action in the park. They had intercepted a crowd of young drinkers
below the tree-line above the main gates of the park. These youngsters
had lit a fire and created a lot of litter. The police extinguished
the fire, confiscated the drink and made the youngsters pick up the
litter and then dispersed them. It will add much to the peace of mind
of residents in the area of the Castle Gates if such actions continue
as promised. It goes without saying that if any of us witness any
anti-social activities, we should contact the police and it appears
that action will be taken. If you have any comments in the future
on the success or otherwise of such strategies, please contact me
or any other committee member.
Another dimension of the problems in the park was illustrated on
the night after the broadcast: extensive fire damage was caused to
the area at the back of the hill facing Glengormley and the authorities
reported that this was malicious. While it is true that vegetation
regenerates after superficial burning, ground nesting birds such as
pipits and larks are badly affected. There is also the danger that
a fire can penetrate the peat layer and smoulder for weeks and even
months, thereby irreparably damaging the habitat. These problems need
to be publicised in the hope that people can be alerted to the damage
being done, not just to the environment in the park but to our image
in Northern Ireland. I have noticed in the last year an increased
number of foreign visitors using the facilities in the park. What
impression do they get of us when they come across groups of unruly
young people creating noise and litter and indulging in other antisocial
activities?
Cormac Hamill
|
|
St. Clements Retreat Housing Development
Update
In February 2006 the Redemptorists submitted a planning application
to the Planning Service for a proposed residential development. On
5 April 2007, the Planning Service presented this application to the
Planning Committee of the Belfast City Council for outline planning
approval. At the request of Councillor Naomi Long, the Planning Committee
agreed to defer making any decision as Councillor Long is seeking
a meeting with the Planning Service for further information and clarification
on a number of matters.
On 1st February 2007, residents living adjacent to St. Clements Retreat
Grounds received notification from the Planning Service regarding
amended plans in relation to a 5.5 metre access road leading from
the Antrim Road past St. Gerard's Church into the grounds of St. Clements.
A retaining wall is also to be constructed to contain the steep embankment
opposite the Church and the Parochial House. Questions still remain
unanswered with regard to the volume of traffic generated by the proposed
development, which could be in excess of 130 vehicles. The consultants
claim that the site access is adequate to accommodate the traffic
onto a main arterial road and that there will be "no adverse impact
on road safety".
The Cavehill Conservation Campaign has particular concerns regarding
the future of animals and protected trees in the area of development.
The Department has been asked to give consideration to the protected
species in these grounds and it still remains to be seen what action
will be taken to secure the habitats of the animals concerned. With
regard to the Tree Preservation Order, there still remains a question
over whether or not the Department will enforce the conditions of
the Order before and during development. When Full Planning Approval
is granted it is imperative that the development is not permitted
to become larger in terms of the number of housing units as that would
have an adverse effect on both trees and animal habitats in the Grounds.
Brian Callaghan
|
|
The Cave Hill fires - a possible solution?
On the evening and night of 17th/18th April a huge fire ravaged two
square kilometres of the Cave Hill on the Glengormley side. For locals
the hill appeared like a volcano. Six fire appliances were called
out, and while they were able to prevent damage to surrounding housing
and to prevent the fire spreading further, they had to leave it to
burn itself out as darkness fell. The extent of this year's blaze
was sufficient to make the regional news.
It is an all too familiar story. Barely a year goes by without a
major fire on the Cave Hill. This one, like many of its predecessors,
was certainly started deliberately: this was the conclusion of the
Fire Service observing 'the number of fires and their locations'.
The season of high risk lasts from mid-March through to mid-May when
dead brush from the previous year is tinder dry, and new growth has
not yet provided green (and more fire resistant) shoots. In this crucial
period we almost always get at least one or two weeks of sunshine
and drying. This year has, of course, been exceptionally sunny and
dry adding to the risks of a major fire. So once again the nesting
birds of the Cave Hill have been fried alive, including a number of
protected species such as the skylark. Once again the fragile ecosystem
of the upper areas of the hill has been degraded. Recovery, perhaps
only partial recovery, will take years, but before then, if the experience
of recent years is anything to go by, another roaring fire will have
frazzled all before it.
The Fire Service 'will be carrying out further investigations and
tackling the problems with other relevant agencies', and presumably
including the police and the City Council. All right and proper then?
It would be, if there was any evidence of anyone ever having been
prosecuted for setting the Cave Hill on fire - but there is no evidence
of this kind. Surely going through the motions is no longer an adequate
answer to this menace. More generally, we have said in the past that
there is a strong argument for a more pro-active park ranger presence
on the upper areas of the Cave Hill. That could help deter a whole
range of anti-social problems all year round.
Fire deterrence would, however, be a far less time demanding obligation.
The period of high risk is at maximum two months, and in most years,
given normal rainfall, might amount to no more than a week or two.
Morning dew provides some protection so we are talking afternoons
and early evenings only. There would seem to be scope for the relevant
agencies to meet in mid-March along with our own group and any other
relevant voluntary organisations, and before the fire season, rather
than after the disastrous fire has taken place, to agree an alert
and response strategy. The alert part would consist of a warning to
all parties based on the ground conditions and the forward weather
forecast if it indicated high fire risk. Our own group and other volunteers
could certainly act as eyes and ears. Rapid reporting of fires is
essential. Spotting can also include observing the route of fire raisers
as they cross the hillside starting a series of fires. We then have
to depend on rapid response times both from the Fire Service and the
Police. Perhaps we can do better in the early extinguishing of fires
and hopefully we can achieve the arrest of some fire raisers.
We can recall an earlier venture involving co-operation between the
Cave Hill Conservation Campaign, the Council, and the police when
an active watch was kept on the hill over a number of days leading
to the arrest of a number of motor-bike scramblers. That problem has
subsequently markedly diminished. Let's resolve to do the same with
fire-raising.
John Gray
|
|
Cave Hill's Cosmopolitan Face
I suppose that many of us can recall occasions when they have felt
enthralled by the scenic beauty of rocks and mountains. As a native
of the Flemish lowlands, I especially remember such a moment when,
at the age of ten, I first set eyes on the awesome beauty of the Swiss
Alps, and how I then envied the kids who grew up there as budding
mountaineers. Later I also mused whether it was, perhaps, the absence
of hills which had prompted my medieval forebears in Antwerp to compensate
for the flatness of their land by daring to build, on soggy soils,
the more-than-one-hundred meter tall cathedral spire which still dominates
my hometown's skyline. How fortunate, therefore, to find that here
in Belfast nature has provided us with the vista of Cave Hill, rising
majestically above the harbour and the city.
But having walked up Cave Hill for many years now, I must say that,
as an anthropologist, I have much wondered about the people who lived
here long ago in pre-Christian times. What was their relationship
to this imposing rock? Were the caves just shelters for them? Or were
they perhaps burial sites for their ancestors? (I witnessed this practice
in 1974 among the Dogon people of Mali). No doubt, the early inhabitants
of these shores must have had cults for placating their ancestral
spirits and the spirits associated with the land and the sea that
sustained their lives. Considering the ubiquity of sacred mountains
throughout human history in both tribal and world religions (e.g.
Jerusalem's Mount Zion and Mecca's Mount Hira), I would not rule out
the possibility that long ago people here too used to make offerings
to their local spirits. Interestingly, during fieldwork in Nigeria
in the 1960s and 1970s, I had occasion to visit some sacred hills
and rocks in Yorubaland. Ownership of these hill cults usually belonged
to the royal clan of a nearby town, and sacrifices of a dog, ram,
or cow might occasionally be ordered by the oracle, especially when
the community was threatened by an epidemic or war.
Whatever further archaeological research may bring to light about
Cave Hill's distant past, I think that now, in our time, we can rest
assured of its continued secular, non-partisan status as a park area
that is open to all visitors. On first impression this may sound as
if Cave Hill is merely a public space where individuals can go and
enjoy themselves, or take exercise. In my own case I have, since settling
in Belfast nine years ago, certainly been one such individual. But,
as I intimated in last year's issue of the Campaigner (2006: p. 6),
a most exhilarating experience for many walkers is that Cave Hill
is now developing into a very cosmopolitan environment which draws
visitors from diverse cultural backgrounds and countries all over
the world. High above Belfast's daily rat race and political strife,
one now meets complete strangers who smile and say hello, or stop
for a little chat and perhaps become friends. A mystic might opine
that it is the spirit of Cave Hill which has made people feel so well
disposed towards each other, and which has, perhaps, recently even
spread its wings to restore the Stormont Assembly.
Personally I can't get my head around the idea of spirits of any
variety, either haloed, winged, or with sharp teeth and horns. But
I do concede that, like art and music, a natural beauty spot such
as Cave Hill can indeed have a strong aesthetic impact on our emotions
and feelings towards other people. Ultimately, though, I believe that
as women and men in this world, we all can and must take the risk
of sharing our humanity with others in order to become cosmopolitan.
For Emmanuel Levinas, one of the greatest and most original philosopers
of the past century, such sharing is not just a matter of living righteously,
or doing good deeds. Rather, being human is what he calls "hospitality",
or the welcoming of "the Other", of "the Face". Levinas sees this
as a timeless ethical project which he traces back to ancient Greece
and Plato, who had stated that "the Good is beyond being". Looking
at the world today and the misery and violence to which globalisation
gives rise, one may glimpse here an alternative, cosmopolitan, political
philosophy according to which the noble art of welcoming "the Face"
may one day save the human race. Five years ago, after finding no
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the UN inspector, Hans Blick,
had said something similar about the face. Sadly his words then fell
on deaf ears in Washington and London; let us revive them now in welcoming
locals and strangers of all "faces" to Cave Hill.
Marc Schiltz
|
|
Enduring City: Belfast in the 20th
Century - book review
Belfast City Council is to be congratulated on its contribution to
the publication of a splendid new book on the city - possibly the
most comprehensive book to date on Belfast and one that should be
read by anyone interested in and concerned about the development of
the city. Produced in association with the Royal Irish Academy, this
handsome volume is edited by Frederick Boal and Stephen Royle. It
includes chapters on virtually every significant aspect of Belfast's
development over the previous century, and contains essays by Jonathon
Bardon, author of the most recent general history of the city.
Those who live in this area of Belfast will, no doubt, derive particular
pleasure from the fact that Enduring City: Belfast in the 20th
Century also includes some thoughtful reflections by the literary
critic Patricia Craig on Cave Hill as a setting in work by a number
of important twentieth century Belfast writers, and a full colour
reproduction of a wonderful painting by Catherine McWilliams of the
Cavehill Gallery. However, emotion of an entirely different kind will
be engendered by the material contributed by Austin Smyth who deals
with an aspect of Belfast's recent development which may, at local
level, have serious environmental repercussions on the Cavehill and
Antrim Road areas. Smyth, who headed the University of Westminster's
Department of Transport Development, and in 2002 became Director General
at the Institute of Transport and Logistics in Dublin, describes the
increasingly malign influence of the motor car on the community. Belfast,
he points out, - and readers may be surprised to learn - is the most
car dependent medium size city in Western Europe. The result is an
environmentally unsustainable urban structure.
There are, to be fair, many reasons for this, not least a prolonged
period of civil disturbance. But an additional and obvious one was
the failure to plan for a high quality public transport system which
would be an attractive alternative to the private car, of which there
are now about 800,000 in Northern Ireland. But, more recently, this
failure of strategic oversight has been exacerbated by the proliferation
of residential development along the city's main arterial routes.
Daily, the consequences of this are becoming obvious in the vicinity
of the Cave Hill. Over the past decade many family homes have been
demolished and replaced by high-density housing units - both public
and private. Thus, in the not so distant future, there will be even
heavier pressure on main arterial routes such as the Antrim Road with
the associated increase in traffic congestion and air pollution.
The recent and dramatic rise in house prices will, in turn, result
in pressure for further high-density development and the possible
encroachment on greenfield areas. Such an approach may very well threaten
the integrity of the Cave Hill itself. This is a long way from the
vision of friendly neighbourhoods and sustainable communities envisioned
by the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan. The absence of a clear commitment
to long-term planning which acknowledges the interdependence of housing
infrastructure and transport facilities will result in a car-dependent
American style urban development, the dangers of which have been mentioned
before in The Cave Hill Campaigner. Austin Smyth believes that this
is increasingly likely if planners do not take appropriate action
to forestall it.
There are as many good reasons as there are chapters in Enduring
City for reading it. For those apprehensive about the pressures
on the Cavehill area, Smyth's contribution may be an alarming read.
In 1990, he says, the development he outlines could probably have
been avoided; at the moment, appropriate action might possibly avoid
it; when the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan is reviewed in 2015, the
answer is likely to be "too late".
Edward McCamley
|
| |
| |
|
Dumping and developers - twin threats
The annual clean up Cave Hill day always provides a useful nose to
terrain view of how we look after the environment. This year less
than a dozen volunteers lifted thirty sacks of rubbish off the hill
and we can assure you that they stank! As the clean up is done annually
that is thirty new sacks of rubbish since last year.
There are obvious culprits. Amidst the bluebells and wild garlic
of spring are the drinking dens. It is not our purpose here to make
some moral point: it is to say that those who use the Cave Hill as
a private sanctuary for partying in this way show a particular disregard
for the sanctuary itself leaving a squalid legacy of their entertainment
for others to clear up.
But are our standards generally any better? The main walking routes
up the Cave Hill are liberally sprinkled with the cartons and bottles
of non-alcoholic seekers after good health, and drinkers and non-drinkers
alike leave copious evidence of their appetite for crisps. Then there
are those who, for some perverse reason, make special journeys to
the Cave Hill to dump their domestic rubbish. Almost everything that
is dropped is non bio-degradable, and, apart from the visual disfigurement
of a litter bestrewn hillside, endangers the wildlife that lives there.
The first responsibility for stemming this tide of filth lies with
each of us individually, but we would advocate applying the principle
of making the polluters pay. It is a mystery, apart from inertia,
as to why our government has not gone for the easy win achieved in
the Republic by applying a tax on plastic bags, which are amongst
the most damaging forms of litter on the Cave Hill and elsewhere.
Beyond that there is much to be said for creating a tax regime favouring
deposits re-payable on the return of bottles and penalising non bio-degradable
crisp and other packaging. Ultimately issues of this kind and of the
environment generally have to be moved further up the government and
local government agenda. We can inspire private individuals to change
their ways but so long as a regime of public squalor prevails there
are limits to what can be achieved.
If, as is the case, the government is planning to have three quarters
of Northern Ireland's waste dumped in the Belfast Hills, the removal
of 30 sacks of rubbish from the Cave Hill is only a small if vital
contribution to better times. Jim Bradley of the Belfast Hills Partnership
examines the whole issue of waste in the Belfast Hills on page 10,
but this issue of the magazine also contains a number of articles
with a strong planning theme. Although as an organisation our primary
focus is the hill itself, we cannot ignore threats to the built environment
on its doorstep. And there are several significant ones at present.
John Gray
|
|
The Chapel of the Resurrection - a
sad tale of a listed building
The Chapel of the Resurrection in Innisfayle Park is arguably the
most 'at risk' historic building in Northern Ireland. It is also one
of our earliest listed structures (Grade B+), having been designated
by the Department of the Environment in November 1974 - a mere five
months after the Grand Opera House, often proudly proclaimed as Northern
Ireland's first listed building. Its descent into disrepair, however,
over the last 30 years has been characterised by slow, incremental
decay, with intermittent incidents of vandalism. That its future should
still be so uncertain is an indictment both of the owner's intentions,
and a failure of the Department of the Environment for not taking
timely enforcement action.
It could, and should, have been so much different. The Chapel of
the Resurrection, originally Belfast Castle Chapel, was built in the
late 1860s by the third Marquis of Donegall as a memorial to his son,
the Earl of Belfast. Ownership transferred in 1938 to the Church of
Ireland, and it was used as a place of worship until the early 1970s.
It has since passed into the hands of a private developer. The diverging
fortunes of the Chapel are stark in comparison to several other Belfast
landmarks. Christ Church on College Square North, for example, provides
a contrasting lesson on the 'art of the possible'. Like the Chapel,
this former church was de-consecrated due to a dwindling congregation.
It was severely fire-damaged in 1996, reducing it to a shell, and
eventually featured opposite the Chapel in the UAHS's Buildings at
Risk Catalogue, Vol. 3 (pp. 20-21). The subsequent history of both
buildings has a common link - the Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust
- but so far only one has had a happy ending. Christ Church was the
subject of an award-winning reuse scheme some eight years after the
fire, thanks to a partnership between the Belfast BPT and the Royal
Belfast Academical Institution. But the Chapel of the Resurrection
has not been so fortunate, in spite of a similarly ambitious rescue
package having been in place. Somewhat incredibly, the vision advanced
by the Belfast BPT for the Chapel was left in tatters after the owner
reneged at the eleventh hour on an agreement to donate the building
to them. This was all the more devastating, because not only had planning
permission for reuse as a single dwelling been secured following a
feasibility study prepared in 1997, but over £200,000 in grant aid
had to be handed back to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
A golden opportunity was lost, and the manner of its unravelling
naturally left a bitter taste, not just for the Belfast BPT, but for
all those who had hoped that this important building had found a new
future. One might have expected the government at this point to step
in and use the enforcement powers at its disposal. Any hopes that
this might happen have proven premature, and there have been numerous
calls since for the DoE's compulsory acquisition powers to be dusted
down and put to the test. Indeed, following the serving of a Repairs
Notice on the owner of a listed building in Sion Mills, County Tyrone
the first compulsory acquisition should soon be complete. The UAHS
would urge that a similar approach be applied to the Chapel (we are
eternal optimists) and we will continue to press the DoE on this matter.
Vocal encouragement from local residents, and other interested parties,
would undoubtedly stiffen any DoE resolve.
Note that a remarkably incomplete planning application was submitted
by the owner in 2005 for the conversion of the Chapel to 3 apartments,
with 33 new build residential units proposed for the grounds. The
UAHS strongly objected to this application.
Andrew McClelland - Heritage Projects Officer Ulster Architectural
Heritage Society
EDITOR'S NOTE: We understand that the property is currently owned
by a company called Merit Homes Ltd, whose registered office is at
58 Moneymore Road, Magherafelt, BT45 6HG.
|
 |
|
A Development Tale (With apologies to Geoffrey
Chaucer)
Previous issues of the Cave Hill Campaigner have drawn attention
to insensitive developments, driven by short term commercial interests,
which have been proposed for the vicinity of the Cave Hill. Recently
we have had another example in which planning permission was sought
for a proposal which would have allowed a significant change from
one "use class" to another, despite convincing evidence that this
was not in the interests of local residents.
The proposal was to convert the former offices of the Milk Marketing
Board on the Antrim Road facing Fortwilliam Park into a complex of
flats with some adjacent housing. The site, which is close to the
designated Somerton Road - Chichester conservation area, has been
acquired by a developer, who, in collaboration with the Northern Ireland
Housing Executive and Oaklee Housing Association, initially submitted
plans for the construction of 34 flats with a concierge, and 31 houses.
This was subsequently amended to 33 flats and 34 houses. In addition,
at a meeting with local residents in December 2004, Paddy McIntyre
of the Housing Executive and Niall Sheridan of Oaklee expressed their
determination to develop further in the vicinity of the Milk Marketing
Board area. Had this plan been implemented it would have constituted
the biggest and least sympathetically considered development in this
part of Belfast. Since the plans were first made public in 2004, a
number of cross-community residents' associations have campaigned
vigorously against the proposals. The objections were to the scale
of the project, its high density, low-cost character, and the adverse
impact it would have on both the stability and the infrastructure
of the area.
On all occasions when the residents, and those public representatives
who shared their concerns, met the Northern Ireland Housing Executive
and Oaklee, the NIHE stressed their willingness to consider proposals
based on the highest standards of social provision. Their emphasis
was on providing high quality buildings to both existing and future
residents of the area. But the original plans were based essentially
on a cheap conversion of the existing office building into living
accommodation. In October 2005 Mr McIntyre admitted that "public sector
cost allowances" were the determining factors in the standard of construction.
It is clear that such a development (if one may use that much abused
word without irony) based upon low-cost, failed concepts of social
housing that have blighted the lives of its occupants in similar projects
all over Europe since the 1960's. In Belfast, the misnamed Unity Flats
at Carrick Hill provided a brutal example of how not to do public
accommodation. The early proposals for the Fortwilliam site represented
a farcical repetition of that failed experiment. At meetings with
the planning officials and the developers, residents insisted that
the quality of design was vital to the development. Indeed, there
very quickly emerged a consensus on the abysmal quality of the original
design and the negative effect that it would have on the neighbourhood.
The objectors argued that the conversion of an ugly, dilapidated 1960's
office block was simply unacceptable. Recently, the speed at which
this building had become vandalised in itself gave rise to much local
speculation of a sinister strategy of allowing the site to become
a festering ruin as a means of putting pressure on the local community
to accept any new use without further argument. In addition to these
dispiriting considerations, there was the possibility of further plans
to increase the scale of this project by between 33 and 50 percent
by the acquisition of the Salisbury Bowling Club. While it is true
that residents received assurances that there would be no Phase Two,
these were muted by the qualifying phrase, "supported by the Housing
Executive," which did little to inspire confidence.
The bold vision of the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan, and the more
recent Dunlop Report on the future of North Belfast, urged carefully
thought-through initiatives based on the existing heritage and traditions
of this part of the city. This is the kind of community-based approach
that would contribute to the eventual creation of a vibrant and sustainable
community in the area. Over the past two years, residents' groups,
supported by some local politicians, have made strenuous representations
in order to modify the proposals outlined above so that they might
be more sensitive to the character of the area. As a result, Ian Elliot,
the Chief Executive of Oaklee Housing Association, arranged a series
of meetings with the Housing Executive and with the architects associated
with the project.
The good news is that significant changes to the original proposals
have been made. There will now be two apartment blocks instead of
four and alterations will be made to their design. Tree preservation
orders will ensure the continued existence of the mature trees on
the site. Community groups and residents' associations will be consulted
on the management of the project. And there will be no Phase Two.
If this tale holds any lessons, it is surely that planners and politicians
serve the community best when the interests of those most profoundly
affected by their decisions are consulted. It is the residents who
should have a decisive say in development proposals that will shape
the circumstances in which they live. Those who are part of a neighbourhood
are the best equipped to sustain a sense of appropriate public space
within it. As Chaucer put it, "intent is all."
Edward McCamley
|
|
Waste in the Belfast Hills
For many years it has been apparent that waste disposal is one of
the most important issues in the Belfast Hills. A series of campaigns
and clean ups have shown the depth of feeling and concerns around
the use of the hills for all sorts of waste management, be it landfill,
recycling or fly tipping. Given the high levels of illegal waste and
the high number of legal sites, it was actually very difficult to
get an overall view of exactly what was happening in the Belfast Hills.
Any detailed studies have only been environmental assessments carried
out for single planning applications, specifically restricted from
looking at the cumulative effects e.g. of multiple landfills. This
greatly hampered any hope of a concerted and planned approach to improving
waste management in the hills - you can't get where you want to get
to if you don't know where you are in the first place.
The Belfast Hills Partnership therefore wanted to gain an objective
view of the overall levels and impacts of waste management in the
area that went well beyond the usual environmental assessments and
would act as a solid first step towards proper planning and management
of waste in the hills. We therefore commissioned a Strategic Environmental
Assessment of waste management policy and practice in the Belfast
Hills which was carried out by RPS Planning and Environment Ltd. The
results of this study were successfully launched at Belfast City Hall
on 15th March 2006. The report highlighted that:
* There are 27 times more waste facilities per acre in the Belfast
Hills than the NI average.
* Almost one million tonnes of waste can be legally land-filled in
the Belfast Hills every year, including roughly 30% of all Northern
Ireland's construction and demolition waste.
* It is estimated that 150,000 tonnes of illegal waste are dumped
in the Belfast Hills every year.
* Current plans to close the Dargan Road site will add a further 400,000
tonnes every year. Following recent planning decisions, levels of
household waste legally dumped in the hills could hit 66% of the total
NI level.
* High levels of illegal domestic fly tipping across the hills have
a significant detrimental impact on the landscape and scenic value
of the hills.
In summary, current waste policy and management give cause for serious
concern for the well being of the wildlife, landscape, residents,
visitors and agriculture in the Hills. Publication of the report got
good coverage in the press, radio and TV, but even better was the
timing of the launch, perhaps more by good fortune than judgement!
The publication of a damming parliamentary audit committee on the
performance of the government's handling of waste management in Northern
Ireland the following week and the launch of the Northern Ireland
waste management strategy meant that the issue has kept bubbling in
the news with frequent reference to the Belfast Hills. The recent
Dispatches programme highlighting just how dire the situation is with
regards to waste management both afar and very close to home has intensified
the debate.
So where to now? The report has a series of recommendations ranging
from the general aspirational to the specific, which we are currently
working through to decide which we must immediately implement. There
is some concern that a plethora of plans and consultations about waste
are in the pipeline, such as the regional arc21 plan. These might
act as an excuse for key agencies to prevaricate at a time when substantial
action on proper monitoring and enforcement is absolutely critical.
At the very least, we hope that our report highlights the urgent need
for greatly improved waste management and policy for what is recognised
as a precious environmental asset to the citizens of Northern Ireland.
Jim Bradley- Belfast Hills Partnership Manager
|
|
Saint Clements housing development
- the story so far
After 45 years the Redemptorists have found it necessary to close
St. Clement's Retreat House. The Retreat has been in a steady decline
since the 1980s and the buildings have gradually fallen into a state
of disrepair. The estimated cost for the buildings to comply with
the necessary legal requirements was approximately £3million and,
having exhausted all possible options, the decision was but to sell
the St. Clement's site for residential development.
The grounds of St. Clement's would be classified as a mature area
of outstanding natural beauty. They are bounded on the north and west
sides by the Cave Hill Country Park and are an important element of
the landscape character of this part of north Belfast. The mature
trees are subject to a Tree Preservation Order and provide a natural
habitat for the many species of birds and wildlife. An application
for outline planning permission for 65 dwellings was submitted to
the Planning Service on 13 January 2006. The plan also indicates "significant
improvements to the existing access onto the Antrim Road" and this
upgraded road is to run between St. Gerard's Church and the Community
Centre. The concept statement document states: "The proposal provides
for a quality residential development that respects the mature landscape
setting, and will deliver low density, high quality housing which
respects the special characteristics of this unique development site."
While this proposed development appears to be sympathetic in nature,
changes can occur as proposals move from one stage to the next. Should
approval be given at this outline stage, there is always the danger
that a developer will seek to increase the density and perhaps try
to alter the nature of the development. The document states: "The
proposal will not lead to any significant adverse intensification
of traffic flows" onto the Antrim Road. ( 8.2 ) The consulting engineers
claim in their Conclusions of the Transport Assessment ( 7.0 ) that:
"Detailed modelling has been undertaken to demonstrate the site access
is adequate to accommodate the traffic generated by the proposed residential
traffic". ( 7.4 ) " We have demonstrated the development will not
have a detrimental impact on traffic, air quality or traffic noise
and the site will be accessible by a variety of transport modes."
( 7.5 ) " On the basis of this study, it is our opinion that the proposed
development will not have a significant impact on the surrounding
road network." ( 7.6 )
How can these claims be justified? The type of development proposed
will probably equate to at least two vehicles per dwelling which will
create an additional traffic hazard, so this will surely cause a considerable
increase in traffic of around 130 vehicles per day, every day. If
at the final application stage the developer is granted approval to
increase the housing density it is likely that there will be an even
greater increase in traffic onto the Antrim Road, intensifying the
use of the existing access / egress point. There are other road junctions
in close proximity to this point, so any additional traffic will be
of grave concern for road safety. Yet it is claimed in the conclusion
of the planning document that the "proposal will have no adverse
impact on road safety." ( 8.3 )
It is imperative that the planners, in conjunction with the DoE (Roads),
carry out a more accurate transport assessment to determine the increase
in traffic at this junction on the Antrim Road before any full planning
permission is granted. It is also imperative that the development
is not allowed to become larger in terms of housing units.
Brian Callaghan
|
 |
|
Protect our countryside from developers!
Planning Policy Statement 14 (known as PPS 14) is the new policy
on Sustainable Development in the Countryside led by the Department
for Regional Development. The main point of it, and the issue which
has received most attention, is the presumption against construction
of new single dwellings in the countryside. Technically, PPS 14 is
out for consultation until 9 June, but a moratorium on new applications
was announced in April. The background to this is the huge growth
in recent years in the number of planning applications being submitted
for one-off rural dwellings in Northern Ireland. The number of single
new dwellings approved here is more than three times the combined
total of England, Scotland and Wales - and was still climbing. In
1994-95, planning approval was granted for 1,845 single homes in rural
parts of the province. By 2004-05, the annual figure had soared to
9,520. The total for 2005-06 will be over 12,000.
Clearly, we were on a totally unsustainable path, even if you allow
for different settlement patterns to England. But there have been
predictable howls of outrage from rural dwellers and their political
representatives. With many farmers struggling to survive financially,
selling land for building has become an important part of their retirement
plans. But the figures quoted above make it obvious that if the previous
planning regime was allowed to continue, our countryside would be
destroyed within a decade. So be in no doubt that opposition to the
new policy implies the eventual destruction of our countryside, with
the building of perhaps12,000 single houses every year. Many readers
will be familiar with the "bungalow blight" which has defaced costal
areas of Donegal and a similar scene can be found in large parts of
Kerry and other formerly-scenic counties in the Republic. PPS 14 is
the last chance of stopping this happening in Northern Ireland. The
Cave Hill Conservation Campaign is in full support of this and urges
you to support it as well. The opponents have made most of the running
until now, but you can register your support for the new policy by
logging on to the website of CPC (The Campaign for the Protection
of the Countryside) and signing their online petition. The site can
be found at www.countrysideni.org and there is also a link to it from
our website which is at www.cavehill.freeuk.com
EDITOR
|
|
Planning - new hope or false dawn?
The long-awaited draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan issued earlier
this year represents a major break with previous planning priorities,
and for the better. Environmentalists can only welcome its commitment
to "a compact metropolitan area with a protected environmental setting".
As Cormac Hamill reports inside, the draft plan offers protective
status of one kind or another to the whole of the Cave Hill. It also
does so for the wider Belfast Hills area where the entire Belfast
basalt escarpment from Black Mountain to the Cave Hill is designated
as an AOHSV or Area of High Scenic Value. This is of course a draft
plan, and in the coming period we can expect every kind of developer
to try and push back its apparent constraints. Around the perimeter
of the Cave Hill we expect the following to be pressure points: the
hill fringes of Glengormley, Hightown Road and Mallusk, the Horseshoe
Bend, and the last remaining area of farmland above the top of the
Upper Cave Hill Road. In these areas private developers will be applying
the pressure.
In one other crucial area, the old zoo at Bellevue, the City Council
has already tried to influence future designation, in the hope of
windfall profits, by having the area opened up for residential development.
We believe that this is an area that should be opened up for free
public use creating a linear park running from the Belfast Castle
to the zoo entrance. As the Council elections loom, you should ask
your North Belfast candidates to support this option. The draft BMAP
suggests that even some of its stronger designations are not immune
to future development. Thus with regard to SLNCI's (Sites of Local
Nature Conservation Importance), there is a developer's get out clause:
"Where exceptionally development is permitted which might adversely
affect the nature conservation value, the Department will endeavour
to ensure that such adverse effects are kept to a minimum." Of course!
Confidence that the Department of Environment can properly serve the
environment, and actually deliver a strong BMAP has been severely
undermined by the well disguised announcement on the eve of Good Friday
by Minister, Angela Smith, of approval for no less than three super
dumps on the fringes of the Belfast Hills at Aughrim, Cottonmount,
and Mullaghglass. All are within the Belfast basalt escarpment which
the draft BMAP, and her department, are simultaneously planning to
designate as an area of High Scenic Value! As is so often the case
with respect to the environment, laudable sentiments are all too easily
overwhelmed by destructive commercial priorities. The dumps announcement
shows how blatantly this is already happening in this case.
John Gray
|
|
The Belfast Hills Partnership is here!
The Cave Hill Conservation Campaign has been involved since the
early 1990's in efforts to ensure an overall approach to the problems
of the Belfast Hills. This has culminated in the new Belfast Hills
Partnership, and we welcome Partnership Manager Jim Bradley's
overview of the issues which the new body is facing - John Gray
Introduction
After years of hard work, late nights, reports, debate and setbacks,
the Belfast Hills Partnership has finally arrived. Launched in February
2005, the Partnership is the culmination of years of work by a variety
of groups from the community, commercial, agricultural, government,
sport and environmental sectors. This very breadth of interests means
that the Partnership can carry some clout with respect to some issues,
while having to take a balanced approach with regard to other issues
on which partners may have differing opinions. T
The main objective of the Partnership is to provide a practical way
of integrating management of the Belfast Hills which is carried out
by a whole range of public and private bodies and individuals. We
are currently based at the Colin Glen Forest Park Centre, which has
been a very welcoming and useful first base. Currently we have three
staff, but the range of work that needs to be done is such that we
must expand our staff as soon as new funding is found. We will probably
be looking for new premises shortly.
Waste
Most would agree that this is the number one issue in the Belfast
hills at the minute, with the high levels of illegal fly tipping and
landfill to date plus the recent announcement of planning approvals
for major landfill sites based at Aughrim, Mullaghglass and Cottonmount.
Whether you agree with these approvals or not, this means a very high
proportion of Northern Ireland's waste will probably end up buried
in and around the Belfast Hills. The impact on aspects such as landscape,
traffic and other environmental effects of these combined has not
been investigated. It is therefore timely that Belfast Hills Partnership
is carrying out a Strategic Environmental Assessment of present and
future waste management in the Belfast Hills area. This will hopefully
show the overall impact of waste management, legal and illegal, on
this unique area. It will also make recommendations both to control
and to positively manage this key industry in the hills. Watch this
space!
Planning
One of our first jobs after starting up was to respond to the Belfast
Metropolitan Area Plan or BMAP as it is known. Important aspects affecting
the Belfast hills include the development stop-line and proposed housing
areas on its edge, access points to the hills and a wide range of
nature conservation designations to name a few. In addition to this,
the Partnership regularly reviews and comments on key development
proposals such as for large housing, landfill and recycling projects.
Access
This is a key issue for many in the Belfast hills, with some pushing
for access generally across the hills while others have grave concerns
in terms of impact on farming and landowners' liability. The Partnership
can play a vital role in making sure both sides hear and understand
the other's views. We need to actively manage existing access, making
sure that visitors understand where they are welcome or should avoid
and also how to behave. The acquisition of Divis by the National Trust
is a watershed moment for the Hills and will help bring a lot of these
related issues and opportunities to the fore.
Agricultural support
This is a time of great change for farmers in Northern Ireland, with
Single Farm Payments and the Nitrates Directive greatly altering local
agriculture. Farms in the hills, being marginal land, are particularly
vulnerable to such changes. We need to do our utmost in supporting
our farmers during this time and also helping with problems specific
to urban / rural fringe farming such as chronically high levels of
vandalism, including fire setting and indiscriminate use of scramblers
and quads.
Biodiversity
Many of you will know that there are still parts of the hills which
are not only like the wilds of Donegal or the Glens of Antrim but
also have similar wildlife. There are lots of changes afoot, with
Biodiversity Officers recently appointed for Belfast, Newtownabbey
and Antrim to write action plans for key habitats. Our role will be
to help ensure that they cover the Belfast hills with plans for upland
heath, key species such as Irish hare and Curlew and also to take
a lead in writing and carrying out these plans if necessary.
Awareness & Volunteering
Amongst all this work, we will be ensuring that as many people become
more aware of the fantastic resource the Belfast hills are and the
threats and issues that they face. We are doing this through events,
press releases and articles such as this one! If you want to know
more about our work, our events or would like to register as a potential
volunteer to help us with our programme, please get in touch via phone
(028) 90603466 or email us at info@belfasthills.org. More details
are on our website: www.belfasthills.org.
Jim Bradley - Partnership Manager
|
|
The Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan
(BMAP)
BMAP is a very comprehensive development plan at present being
drawn up which will guide planners in the Belfast area up to the year
2015. The draft document was published in December 2004 and submissions
were sought by a January 2005 deadline. Within a fairly short (but
unspecified) time BMAP will replace any other development guides.
Its stated aim is as follows: "To provide a planning framework which
is in general conformity with the RDS (the Regional development Strategy,
drawn up by the Assembly in 2001) in facilitating sustainable growth
and a high quality of development in the Belfast Metropolitan Area
throughout the Plan period, whilst protecting and where appropriate,
enhancing the natural and man-made environment of the Plan Area"
The aspects of the Plan which have drawn the Campaign's attention
have been its declared intention to protect and enhance the natural
environment and we have given close scrutiny to its implications in
the immediate area of Cave Hill. We have submitted a written response
to the document which in broad terms welcomed its proposals. As it
stands at present, BMAP appears to have taken its conservation role
seriously. It intends "to limit expansion at the periphery of built-up
areas and to promote regeneration within" and to promote "the development
of healthier lifestyles… through increased provision for walking and
cycling facilities"
To help it in its conservation role, BMAP has proposed various designations
which will convey different degrees of protection against development.
The Belfast Basalt Escarpment is to be designated an Area of High
Scenic Value (AOHSV); this area stretches from Carnmoney Hill to beyond
Colin mountain, along the skyline. There are to be two Local Landscape
Policy Areas (LLPA) near us: around Fortwilliam golf course up to
Throne Wood and also the Carr's Glen area. There are to be four relevant
Sites of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCI). These are the
whole of the Belfast Hills Area, an area around the zoo entrance road,
an area behind the zoo and virtually the whole of the Cave Hill and
Colinward area. These areas are all additionally designated Areas
of Constraint on Mineral Development. The whole of the Cavehill Country
Park to the east of the escarpment is to be designated an Urban Landscape
Wedge. These are open areas where planning permission will be granted
only for recreational uses with various provisos and safeguards. Belfast
Castle grounds and Bellevue (Belfast Zoo) are to be ranked among the
Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes.
If the Plan is implemented as presently drafted, all these designations
should provide a great deal of protection to our open spaces around
Cave Hill. However, it is well to bear in mind that these designations
do not provide absolute protection against all development. They merely
provide a framework against which development proposals will be assessed.
But BMAP's protection, nevertheless, will be better than that provided
at present. There is one other caveat: the document has yet to incorporate
submissions made by various interested bodies such as builders and
developers. The results of their lobbying will only become clear with
the publication of the actual plan and when that happens, we will
need to scrutinise it again.
I contacted the Planning office in March this year (2005) to check
progress on the implementation of BMAP. At present, following the
consultation process, submissions are being considered preliminary
to holding a public enquiry. It appears that that enquiry will probably
not take place until early 2006. The public enquiry may throw up issues
which will need further discussion, which means that no one can predict
when the development process will draw to a close. Best guesses are
that it may not be until some time in 2008 that we might expect BMAP
to be in place. It is generally assumed that the years that the plan
will be in force will be extended beyond 2015 to compensate for the
delay in its implementation.
Cormac E Hamill
|
|
News from the Waterorks and Belfast Zoo
Is the waterworks now safe?
Last year we headlined disastrous plans to build a leisure
centre in the Waterworks Park. At the time this plan was enthusiastically
supported by both Sinn Fein and the SDLP, who were in a race to prove
who could get a leisure centre for Nationalist North Belfast first.
That race is still on, but happily the Waterworks is no longer going
to be its victim. No sudden environmental conversion has taken place,
but we now know that Girdwood Barracks is to close and the seven acre
site there should provide ample space for both new housing and a leisure
centre. It is a welcome solution. It is also good to see that Queen
Mary's Gardens, at the Antrim Road corner of the park, is being re-landscaped.
Is it too much to hope that the Council will go on from there, and
deal with the dereliction elsewhere in the Waterworks?
John Gray
Future of the zoo in question?
A visioning process with regard to the future of Belfast Zoo has led
to some far more fundamental questions being asked at the April City
Council meeting. Ulster Unionist, Chris McGimpsey, announced that
he planned to start a campaign to close 'the abomination on Cave Hill',
his colleague Davy Browne also stated his opposition to zoos, and
Alliance's Naomi Long argued that 'just because something is popular
doesn't make it right'. In the opposite camp were Ulster Unionist,
Jim Rodgers, and the DUP's Nelson McCausland and Ian Crozier. All
councillors should be worried about the enormous cost of running the
Zoo - the estimates for 2005/6 indicate running costs of £1.5 million,
and a total outlay, including capital costs, of £2.1 million. According
to Councillor McGimpsey, it is costing Belfast ratepayers £40,000
per week, despite attracting 200,000 visitors a year. Indeed, the
only time that the Zoo ever made a profit was during the Second World
War, after the more dangerous animals had been shot as a security
measure! There is a growing debate worldwide about the morality of
zoos. These questions were last asked here in the 1970's when the
old zoo came within an ace of closure. Nobody can deny that the conditions
at the zoo have greatly improved since the new development and re-siting
in the 1980's, but the propriety of keeping wild animals used to roaming
hundreds or thousands of acres in warmer climes on small pockets of
land on the dank north face of Cave Hill, has to remain open to serious
question. Much is made now of breeding programmes for rare animals,
but this remains a fig leaf for the captivity of the vast majority
of zoo animals that are neither rare nor endangered. We support Chris
McGimpsey and others prepared to ask the fundamental question: Is
it right in this day and age that our Council should intern wild animals
at our expense?
While much is made of the role of the Zoo in preserving rare breeds,
one of its most positive and wholly uncontroversial roles in this
respect has been wilfully dismantled. Over a number of years the Zoo
had built up a herd of the rare Irish moiled cattle, which grazed
the Cave Hill.. Last year these were sold off at short notice despite
representations made by the Belfast Hills Partnership and the Ulster
Farmers' Union. We regret this short-sighted abandonment of concern
for native rare breeds. We also note that no confirmation has been
forthcoming from the Council of arrangements for continued grazing
of the upper areas of the Cave Hill, an essential ingredient in the
maintenance of the fragile eco-system of the area.
John Gray
|
|
The Land of the White Crow
A small area of land in the Belfast Hills was acquired a few years
ago with the intention of returning it to nature. Early in April,
I went for a stroll round the fields and moors nearby. No wild flowers
to see - the primroses long since eradicated by over-grazing and pesticides.
On the moor-land were charred clumps of gorse, the remains of last
year's vandalism. Unfortunately, this is now an annual event on the
Belfast Hills, killing ground-nesting birds and animals. I met a native
who lamented the disappearance of pheasant and hare. He asked how
the land got its name and I told him that in the past a pure white
crow had often been seen over this moor, although not for many years
now. As I walked on, I gathered litter blown from lorries on their
way to landfill sites and saw the black plastic strips caught on the
barbed wire fences. Soon I was trailing a sack full of rubbish and
it seemed to me that the whole area was treated as a dump. My dog
shared my dejection.
Then I glanced back and caught the sunlight as it brightened the
first hint of green from some of the 11,000 native trees which have
been planted here in the past few years, some already near two metres
tall. And I reminded myself that this landscape was changing from
an area of over-grazed fields to a woodland of growing diversity,
where primrose and wood sorrel can hope to flourish. As the dog bounced
across the heather he raised both a skylark and a flock of meadow
pipits. As I listened to the twittering lark, I took comfort from
the fact that the future habitat for these birds is now assured. The
long hedgerows which frame and divide the land were planted as a community
effort. Soon they will froth with the white flowers of the blackthorn
and next winter they will offer more food and shelter to a wider variety
of birdlife.
I glanced over towards Belfast, below the hills and looking almost
beautiful and renewed in a soft azure light, after the April downpour.
In the distance a solitary bird ascended, too far away to identify,
and circled for a moment until it finally merged into the shadow of
the hillside. And I wondered, could this be the white crow returned
to reclaim his kingdom?
Katherine Hall
|
|
FOLK WHO LIVE NEAR THE HILL
A fascinating aerial photograph of North Belfast was taken
in 1928 by a Belfast Newsletter photographer, Robert Martin, from
a Shorts Calcutta flying boat. It shows clearly how the area around
Cavehill has been developed in the years since then. It shows that
the lough side of the Antrim Road between Fortwilliam and Gray's Lane
had, already been substantially built on. The development of the northern
side had halted briefly at the Cavehill Road but by the 1930s development
had resumed. Prosperous modern villas of the type celebrated in the
poetry of John Betjeman, "recalling laurel, shrubs and privet," now
stretched themselves along the lower slopes of Cave Hill. One of the
features of the inter-war period was the development around cities
of extensive urban fringes. In the nineteenth century most accommodation
in industrial centres such as Belfast was rented. The modern preoccupation
with owner-occupation did not develop until after the First World
War, when great numbers of houses like those then built on the Antrim
Road were built by the new middle classes with the aid of building
society loans. This expansion was encouraged by the development of
both public and private transport.
Where houses led the way, other developments followed. In 1935 Belfast
Royal Academy, after a surprisingly prolonged bout of agonising, purchased
land on the lower slopes of Cave Hill from Lord Shaftesbury for development
as playing fields, and as the site of a preparatory school. In due
course trees were removed, the area levelled and the Castle Grounds,
as the facility was named, were prepared by the landscape gardener
who had recently laid out the new grounds for the Northern Ireland
Parliament at Stormont. The Academy became increasingly anxious to
secure the purchase when it suspected that the elusive 9th Earl, whose
circumstances had obliged him to present the estate and the Castle
to the City in 1934, was negotiating with another school in the area.
The school in question was apparently the Dominican Convent which
in the 1930s took over 'Walton' an Italianate sandstone house at Fortwilliam,
originally built by the nineteenth century linen merchant Henry Kirk,
and which, as the architectural historian Paul Larmour points out,
is one of the few surviving mansions of the old private park. This
had extended from the Antrim Road to the Shore Road, contained many
detached residences, and was made exclusive with gates, of which only
the piers remain, at each end. Additions to the college were made
after the Second World War and now Fortwilliam School has a new and
conspicuously modern building.
Belfast's Jewish community is strongly identified with the northern
suburbs of the city. Active in the commercial life of Belfast its
numbers peaked at around 1,400 in the 1940s when, boosted by fugitives
from fascist persecution in Europe and living mainly on the Antrim
and Somerton Roads. A new community centre and synagogue was opened
on the Somerton Road in 1964, replacing the previous Annesley Street
building and itself reflecting the outward movement of the community
along the Antrim Road in the previous half century. Designed by Eugene
Rosenberg, the synagogue has been described as one of the most accomplished
modern buildings in Belfast.
In recent years the area surrounding the Cave Hill has changed again.
But ill-considered development threatens the balance between heritage
and the needs of a growing community. Unrestricted property speculation
and political opportunism, if not contested by those who live in the
area may undermine both the natural environment of Cave Hill and what
remains of the neighbourhood's historical and architectural legacy.
Edward McCamley
|
|
THE CAVE HILL THRONE?
Sir Samuel Ferguson is one of the most celebrated literary figures
with North Belfast associations. A Presbyterian by background, he
was also a romantic enthusiast for the ancient history of Ireland.
His story Corby MacGillmore was actually set on the Cave Hill and
deals with imagined conflicts of medieval times. Even when dealing
with facts Ferguson was a romantic, and in 1833 he gave birth to the
Cave Hill 'throne' in a letter to the celebrated antiquary, Sir George
Petrie:
"Pray do you know whether the inauguration of Irish kings
was uniformly by placing the foot in a track of its shape, or did
they ever employ the hand? My reason for asking is that I think what
is generally called the Giant's Chair on top of the Cave Hill has
been a crowning stone. But instead of the impression of a foot, I
find on one of the arms of the seat a hole, to all appearances artificial
(vulgarly called the Giant's snuff box), which is just the shape of
the inside of a glove, and fits the right hand pretty exactly. The
stone in which it is, seems to have been brought thither. The others
appear part of the rock. If that was the O'Neills' crowning-stone
in Lower Claneboy, they must have had a fine view on the coronation
day…"
We don't know how Petrie replied, but we do know that he had already
written about the crowning seat of the O'Neills which had been located
in Castlereagh in the eighteenth century and which survives in the
Ulster Museum to this day. We also know that the inauguration of Irish
kings or chieftains usually involved a flat stone or leac rather than
a chair or throne.
Ferguson's speculation might never have reached a wider audience
if it had not been for the publication in 1896 of a biography by his
widow, Sir Samuel Ferguson in the Ireland of his day. She brought
to light the old speculation of 1833 and she did so just as Alice
Milligan and a group of associates with strong North Belfast connections
launched The Shan Van Vocht , a gaelic revivalist and Irish separatist
magazine. A major focus of its brief history was the memory of the
United Irishmen and the centenary commemorations planned for 1898.
What was already well known was the symbolic importance of MacArts
Fort in the history of the United Irish enterprise. It was here that
in the summer of 1795 Wolfe Tone and others had sworn 'never to desist
until they had freed Ireland from English tyranny'. Now Ferguson's
resurrected letter of 1833 added an extra dimension - perhaps the
oath of 1795 had been deliberately sworn by the throning seat of the
old chieftains? This proposition was made in the 4th December 1896
issue of The Shan Van Vocht and by August 1897, in planning the 1898
commemoration they were contemplating a banner showing 'MacArts Fort
… and a reminder of the vow of Tone'. On New Year's Eve, as 1898 dawned,
the '98 Ulster Provincial Executive met at MacArts Fort and amongst
other resolutions predictably repeated verbatim the oath of 1795.
As I Roved Out
And yet if we are to believe Cathal O'Byrne in his well known collection
of Belfast tales, As I roved out, they were no longer able to make
their pledge alongside a presumed throne. As he describes it, opponents
of any commemoration had picked up on that first reference in the
December 1896 edition of The Shan Van Vocht:
"A number of workmen were engaged in placing iron rail-posts
on either side of the pathway leading up to the hill. One of these
rail-posts was used as a lever by the vandals of that day, and the
stone of the Coronation Chair containing the imprint of the hand was
sent hurtling down over the precipice into the green coomb, hundreds
of feet below. "
There is as yet no other direct confirmation of this incident, though
there is the circumstantial evidence of a contemporary sketch by J.W
Carey of workmen engaged in erecting a fence close to McArts Fort.
There is definitely no sign there today of any stone of a kind that
even the most fevered imagination could convert into a throne! For
O'Byrne it was a case of gone but not forgotten. A determined Nationalist,
and admirer of Alice Milligan, he concluded his tale of the 'throne'
with a determined re-affirmation of its authenticity: "Who
can doubt but that Sir Samuel Ferguson's suggestion was the correct
one - that the Stone chair on the top of Cave Hill was the original
inaugural Throne used at the installation of the great O'Neills."
O'Byrne's account was first published as an article in the Irish
News, and then included in the first edition of As I roved out in
1946. The enduring popularity of this collection, with new editions
in 1957 and 1982, means that in popular understanding the notion of
a throne on the Cave Hill lives on. The tale of the 'throne' is in
fact no more than a good example of the victory of romantic imagination
over facts.
My thanks for assistance to Liz Curtis, whose pamphlet, The Throne
Hospital and its Surroundings: Fact, Fable and Conjecture, is due
for publication later this year by North Belfast Tourism.
John Gray
|
|
Book review: Wild Belfast
- by Robert Scott (Blackstaff Press £12.99)
This is a sumptuous book. It is profusely illustrated with photographs
and high-quality drawings, something on every page and everything
is in colour. Of course, these high production values are needed to
do justice to the theme: a survey of all the wildlife to be found
in Greater Belfast, from Holywood round to Carrickfergus and down
the Lagan valley towards Lisburn. The book has been subsidised by
the Environment and Heritage service of the Department of the Environment
and supported by Belfast City Council and this is reflected in the
price. This book looks and feels as if it were much dearer.
It is by no means comprehensive, but nor does it purport to be. A
full survey would require a book many times thicker than this and
would be beyond the capabilities of any one person. But it does give
representative illustrations and descriptions of much that we could
observe. It is not a reference book. It cannot be used for systematic
identification and it is too large to be carried on any outing. Such
books tend to be dry. This book is much more; it is an invitation
to get out and look, to walk and fossick and find and observe something
of the wonderful range of animal and plant life, all within easy reach
of our homes.
Robert Scott's tone is idiosyncratic and discursive. His personality
shows through as he takes the reader on strolls in various locations
in Belfast. He wears his learning lightly; he has a PhD in Botany
and is Conservation and Education Officer with Belfast City Council.
The text not only describes plants and animals but also gives peripheral
but useful information. He says, for example that the emphasis in
park management in Belfast has changed in recent years from manicure
and neatness to providing wildlife refuges. And he also sketches in
the background to the preservation of part of the Bog Meadows. Reading
his prose is very like listening to a good teacher. He addresses the
task in hand, uses illustrations superbly and yet is prepared to go
off at a slight tangent as the opportunity presents. For example,
pignuts were referred to as poor man's truffle and eating the roots
of yarrow can induce prophetic dreams!
What about our own Cave Hill area? He has a section at the back where
he selects twenty wildlife areas and gives details about access and
location and some species information. We are close to four of these
areas - Hazelwood, Cave Hill Country Park, Belfast Castle Estate and
the Waterworks. But the species information in these sections is very
sparse -much more is embedded in the main text in the book where he
takes a habitat approach and deals with the inner city, gardens, parks
and open spaces, meadows, wetlands, ponds and lakes, waterways, coastal
areas, hills and mountains and finally woodlands. References to Cave
Hill and the Castle estate abound. They can all be found through the
very comprehensive index but it is much more rewarding to sit down
and read the text through; there is so much to learn and savour.
Two small quibbles - on page 28 he mentions people leaving out a
welcome saucer of milk for hedgehogs. I think that this practice is
not encouraged by those who are involved with hedgehogs - pet food
is recommended instead. And on page 27 he credits slugs and snails
with possessing an efficient set of teeth. In fact these gastropods
don't chomp - they feed by rasping with a serrated tongue.
This is a book to be treasured. I found time and again that I was
making mental notes to look for this or that on Cave Hill; the butterfly
orchid that grows on the top of Cave Hill; the red broomrape that
grows close to the caves and the moschatel, Belfast's rarest plant
which Robert Foster tells us is growing in a small colony somewhere
in the Castle estate.
Buy this book, read it and as I have, make your own list of things
to find on the wonderful wildlife resource on our very doorsteps.
Cormac E Hamill
|
| |
|
A VIEW FROM MACART'S FORT
There is that delicious moment every year when one hears the first
skylark. This year it was extraordinarily early and wafted our way
by southerly winds on 8th March. Lying on the top of Cave Hill at
MacArt's Fort, one can easily ask what is the environmental problem
if these travellers from afar still come? Looking about and reflecting
on the changes of thirty years they are small enough. The new roadway
to the summit from the Hightown Road which was supposed to green over
but hasn't, the barbed wire fences that went up at the same time for
no useful purpose, the continued proliferation of electronic masts
of one kind or another on the surrounding hill tops, but none of it
enough yet to put off the skylarks.
What then is there to worry about if we, and the skylarks, can still
enjoy this unique resource on the very edge of a city? Reflect a moment:
it is only as a result of constant vigilance and action that we can
preserve resources such as this. A combination of greed, the knee-jerk
support of politicians for commercial development, short term thinking,
indifference to the great outdoors and the environment, the pressures
of housing demand - all of these have done and still can do untold
damage. As we remember elsewhere in this issue, we owe present-day
public access to the Cave Hill to the pioneer campaign of the Rights
of Way Association, which defeated the speculative developers of the
1850's. Grandiose and inappropriate plans for the Cave Hill have followed
over the years, ranging from the pre-First World War scheme for a
tramway to the summit, to the proposal for a cableway of only a couple
of years ago. Some of these schemes have fallen by the wayside because
the economics didn't add up. Others, such as the mining proposal which
gave birth to this organisation, have only been stopped by vigorous
public opposition. We can guarantee that yet more such notions will
surface in the future. The Cave Hill Conservation Campaign will defend
the hill as before.
Prospective threats to the Cave Hill are only a microcosm of those
that endanger the Belfast Hills generally, all the way from the Black
Mountain via the Cave Hill to Carnmoney Hill. The Cave Hill Conservation
Campaign, along with others from the foot of the Black Mountain, first
urged a collective approach to these problems in the early 1990's.
It is hugely encouraging that years of co-operative work have now
borne fruit in the formation of a powerful Belfast Hills Partnership
supported by government and the five district councils which have
parts of the hills in their areas. The Partnership, which is currently
recruiting staff and will be initially based in the offices of the
Collin Glen Trust, has an impressive programme to improve conditions
in the hills, and including for those who live there. Perhaps above
all its work will encourage a greater public commitment to the protection
of what remains a uniquely valuable if fragile resource for us all.
Its work should make it more difficult for those whose only motivation
is financial gain; it should make it easier for those who are merely
unthinking to think again.
JOHN GRAY
|
|
WATERWORKS DOWN THE DRAIN?
Fill in the lower pond at the Waterworks and build a leisure
centre there. Writing this on 1st April it reads like a classic April
Fools Day joke. If only it was. Instead, it is an immediate threat,
and a classic example of how little our politicians actually care
about the environment, or, at least, of how easily they will sacrifice
it when it seems politically expedient.
The Water Works is an historic feature built in the 1840's to provide
Belfast's water supply. Right up until the late 1960's it was actively
used for a whole range of outdoor activities organised by the Council
including boating, fishing and swimming. Council promotional literature
described it as 'Belfast's inland seaside resort'. Thirty years of
gross neglect have not destroyed its inherent and unique attractiveness.
It remains important as an inner city nature reserve, and as part
of a green wedge running into the City. It is heavily used by walkers
of all ages. The children's playgrounds are popular, as is the new
multi-sports facility. All these uses, with the exception of the multi-sports
facility, are on a free access basis, unlike the pay-in environment
of a leisure centre. How could such a proposal emerge? What is not
in question is that mainly Nationalist areas in North Belfast have
long felt deprived of proper leisure facilities, and with considerable
justice. Travel to other centres in mainly loyalist areas is a problem
for young people in particular. The new balance on the City Council
has enhanced Nationalist bargaining power. Trade-offs with Unionists
are now possible - one leisure centre for you, one for us. East Belfast
gets one, North Belfast gets one.
Now the race is on between the SDLP and Sinn Fein to prove that they
were instrumental in getting North Belfast's entitlement, and to get
it built as fast as possible before the window of opportunity closes.
In this political steeplechase, no one questions the logic of separate
leisure centres for separate communities. The pattern, by which Belfast
has 17 leisure centres while a similar sized city like Sheffield has
3 really good ones, will continue. As for the new North Belfast leisure
centre, no one stops to think too hard about siting it. Simply getting
it is the be all and end all of it. Then, take a brief look, and isn't
the Waterworks the largest vacant plot in an otherwise densely packed
area? Certainly over the years the City Council have done their best
through wilful neglect to ensure that the Waterworks can be perceived
as a vacant plot. Look at the mud bank at the top of the lower pond.
After prolonged wrangling over cost and procedures, it appears that
the Council has now decided to dredge the lower pond, but only because
of the immediate health and safety risk, not because of any amenity
considerations. See how they have removed all the flowering shrubs
in the lower part of the park ostensibly to remove cover for drinkers,
drug-dealers, and glue sniffers. So the ground seemed well prepared
for a consultation exercise with a pre-ordained outcome. A Council
questionnaire was hardly distributed at all, and in any case asked
general questions about leisure centre provision in Belfast, rather
than adequately exploring the Waterworks issue, let alone enabling
informed responses to it. The Council's website actually shows three
possible locations in the Waterworks (see link at the end of this
article) and gives no information about the size of the proposed facility
or about what it will contain. We may presume that the favoured option
does embrace the lower pond, because Sinn Fein have consulted 'environmentalists'
about the effect on bird life there. Apparently the birds don't mind
being moved. One would have loved to be in on this consultation exercise
with the large population of mute swans: perhaps the geese, pochard,
and tufted ducks were more talkative!
If they were hoping for an easy ride on all this, they were in for
a rude shock. Consultation meetings held in Manor Street and Newington
were well attended and the majority expressed resolute opposition
to any proposal to damage the Waterworks. Here were those living in
the area apparently looking a gift horse in the mouth. What they were
saying is that they do not want a leisure centre at any price, and
especially if that price is to be the partial destruction of the unique
community asset of the Waterworks. Perhaps the immediate hostile reaction
to the proposal will lead to second thoughts. We hope so. Already
we hear one response along the lines that it is up to opponents of
the scheme to come up with an alternative location for the proposed
leisure centre. No! The Waterworks should never have been proposed
as a leisure centre site, and it is the task of political leaders
to come up a solution other than one suitable only for April Fools
Day. You can see the map showing the proposed locations for the new
leisure centre at www.belfastcity.gov.uk/leisurereview/Proposed_LC_Sites.asp
JOHN GRAY
|
|
RESURRECTION OF THE CHAPEL?
In a recent exchange of letters on the subject of listed buildings
in The Times a correspondent argued convincingly that the protection
of such buildings is a recognized public good, and that is why ownership
rights are circumscribed in the interests of the community. To that
extent, listed buildings are protected in much the same way as archaeological
sites and wildlife habitats. That is, of course, the theory; in practice,
public bodies in Northern Ireland have often failed to take action
to prevent the unauthorised demolition of many listed buildings, and
in other cases, the destruction of many fine buildings has been facilitated
by de-listing them. A building of historical importance and - now,
much diminished architectural distinction - which is threatened with
oblivion is the Chapel of the Resurrection just below Belfast Castle.
Originally Belfast Castle Chapel it was designed by Lanyon, Lynn
and Lanyon, in what Paul Larmour describes as the Decorated Gothic
style, and completed in 1869 as a mortuary chapel for the Earl of
Belfast who had died in 1853. The mortal remains of the Earl and those
of four of his immediate relatives, including his mother who died
in Paris in 1860, were transferred to the Chapel from the Chichester
family vaults in Carrickfergus and re-interred in a crypt cut into
the rock under the chapel. In 1934 the Earl of Shaftesbury presented
his estate on the slopes of Cavehill, and the Castle to the City.
Four years later the Chapel of the Resurrection was transferred without
endowment to the Church of Ireland and, in conjunction with St Peter's
Church on the Antrim Road, services continued to be held in the Chapel
throughout the Second World War. Thereafter it was used rarely and
in 1972 it was deconsecrated and closed. Furnishings were distributed
to other churches, most notably St Peter's, and a white marble monument
of the young Earl being mourned by his mother is now to be found in
the City Hall. The Chapel was listed in 1974 and sold by the Church
of Ireland in 1988. As with so many vacant buildings, it was repeatedly
vandalised and is now in a sorry state of disrepair. Its present owner
is P J Conway (Contractors) Ltd and the land on which it is situated
is being developed for private residences. Recently however the BBC
has shown some interest in including the Chapel of the Resurrection
in a new series of television programmes on the restoration of listed
buildings under threat.
"Once lost, listed buildings cannot be replaced…They represent a
finite resource and irreplaceable asset and contribute to the quality
of the built environment". Who could argue with such sentiments? One
is heartened even more by the fact that it appears in the preamble
to Planning Policy Statement 6, published by the Planning Service.
This document goes on to point out that the destruction of a historic
building is very seldom necessary, and pleads for such buildings to
be incorporated into new developments or for new uses to be found
for them (Policy BH 10). Consent to demolish a listed building, it
avers, will not be given simply because redevelopment is economically
more attractive to the developer than repair; and demolition of a
Grade A or Grade B+ building (the Chapel of the Resurrection is in
the latter category) should be wholly exceptional and undertaken only
after permission has been granted and the building appropriately recorded.
It is not unfair to say that in Northern Ireland neither private
owners nor public bodies have a reputation for seeing themselves as
zealous custodians of the country's architectural heritage. All too
often demolition or calculated decay are regarded as the easy options.
In the recent elections, Planning issues and environmental considerations
did not feature prominently in the manifestoes of the main political
parties. Concerted and sustained pressure by organizations such as
the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and the Environment and
Heritage Service, supported by residents' associations, can however
make a difference. The Planning Service has provision for compulsory
acquisition as a last resort. If an owner cannot maintain or restore
an important building such, as the Chapel of the Resurrection, or
if he is not interested in doing so, sale or leasing to a restoring
purchaser may be a possibility, and one that is allowed for in the
rubric of the Planning Service. Those who see the Chapel of the Resurrection
as an important building in its own right, as well as an architecturally
significant part of an ensemble of buildings comprising Belfast Castle
itself, and the former Castle Gate Lodge at Strathmore Park, like
to think that it may yet be saved.
[ Belfast's Original Black Man: The Young Earl 1827-1853 by Brendan
Colgan was an important source in the preparation of this article.]
EDWARD McCAMLEY
|
|
THE CAVES - A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
There are five caves in total in a nearly sheer basalt face about
93 metres high. Only one is reasonably accessible and another one
can be reached with care. The other three cannot nowadays be safely
reached without climbing skills and the appropriate equipment. Basalt,
it should be noted is a notoriously bad rock for climbing; it is greasy,
crumbly and with rounded holds and the climb should not be attempted.
The first cave is situated is just above the main path to the top
of Cave Hill. It is nowadays about four metres above the path and
can be climbed into with a modicum of care. The soil below it has
eroded away badly in the last hundred years; there is a line on the
rock just below the lip of the cave which seems to show where rock
has recently been exposed. This is borne out by a photo in the Welch
collection which shows a lady with crinolines and parasol perched
in the entrance. There is also a sketch (undated but nineteenth or
possibly eighteenth century) in the F J Bigger collection in the City
Library which also shows the soil level up to the mouth of the cave.
It is the second-largest cave, measuring about six metres from entrance
to rear, six and a half metres across and two metres or so in height.
This second cave cannot be seen from below.
The best physical description occurs in a detailed survey published
by Philip Reynolds and Samuel Turner in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology
vol 8 no 2 (1902) and I have taken the liberty of reproducing a drawing
by Joseph Carey, which the authors of the article used.
The second cave can be reached by scrambling up the soil to the left
of the first cave and then climbing up a five metre sheer cliff. This
leads to a secure ledge system and this in turn leads to both the
second cave and a shallow hollow in the face called 2A in Carey's
diagram. This second hollow was known as the lion's den according
to the old sketch map. They are about twenty three metres above cave
1. This second cave is the smallest of the five being about three
metres deep, nearly three metres wide and less than two metres high.
The other three caves form a connected system. Folk memory indicates
access to them via a dangerous horizontal path across the cliff to
cave 3 and the UJA article also refers to access this way. That path
is now eroded away and such access is now impossible. The sketch in
the Bigger collection shows a winding path from ledge to ledge going
up from slightly to the right of cave 2. That access is also now not
possible. It is possible to reach the fourth cave by climbing vertically
up from the ledges above and to the left of cave 2 but it is a serious
rock-climbing exercise; six metres of treacherous basalt. Although
its entrance is small, cave 4 is the largest cave, being about nine
metres deep, five metres wide and over two metres high at its highest.
Near the back, on the right is an earth ramp leading to a hole in
the ceiling and through which you emerge onto the floor of cave 3.
This cave is about six metres deep, three and a half metres wide and
less than two metres high. The mouth of the fifth cave is on the top
right corner of cave 3 as viewed from below the caves. Access involves
a slight exposed scramble at the mouth of cave 3 and this opens into
a cave four and a half metres deep, five metres wide and two and a
half metres high.
On my last visit, a number of years ago, there was little evidence
of human visitation other than two religious inscriptions. The difficulty
of access ensures their preservation. Little is known for definite
about them and their history and what has been written is largely
speculation. In a future article, I intend to bring together what
is known and gather together any references to them.
CORMAC HAMILL
|
|
THE GREAT CAVE HILL RIGHT OF WAY CASE
Those of us who today encourage access to the Cave Hill and more generally
the Belfast Hills follow in a distinguished tradition. The Association
for the Protection of Public Rights of Way in and around Belfast,
a pioneer in the field, was formed in 1856 specifically to defend
the public right of access to the Cave Hill. It went on to win a famous
court case in 1859, which secured the historic right of way up the
hill above Gray's Lane and via the Volunteer Well. In 1855 one Joseph
Magill blocked off the route and began construction of his imposing
villa, Martlett Towers close to the old path. To add insult to injury
the historic Volunteer Well was to be enclosed within the outbuildings
of the new edifice.
Magill had obtained the land by inheritance from his father-in-law,
Andrew Nash. Nash was a colourful character, a navy lieutenant from
Cork who fell in love with and married Sarah Orr 'The Flower of Cave
Hill', and owner of the lands later at issue. Nash was a bon-viveur
who lived beyond his means until, as Francis Joseph Biggar tells us,
his creditors were in such hot pursuit that there was 'often only
one safe day in the week (Sunday) for him to walk abroad'. Joseph
Magill was a would-be businessman and speculative developer and must
have seemed a godsend to Nash in his straitened financial position.
When Martlett Towers was completed and the path closed off there was
little sign of the storm to come. The customary Easter Monday Fair
below the caves could not take place, but there was no immediate protest
and Magill could in any case pose on the side of morality because
by 1856 the fair was in decline and disapproved of by the clergy of
all denominations as an occasion of drunken debauchery. What Magill
and his father-in-law failed to anticipate were the strong feelings
of the most respectable citizens in the area, including their own
neighbours. The Rights of Way Association rapidly recruited 68 members
including both of Belfast's MPs.
Magill refused to negotiate on the matter and eventually, in 1858,
the Rights of Way Association took him to court and successfully prosecuted
him for obstructing a public highway. Magill appealed the verdict
in August 1859. The appeal case ran for five days and was a public
sensation. Not only were the proceedings fully covered in the local
papers, but at the conclusion the Northern Whig also rushed out a
full 88-page transcript. This remains an invaluable source not only
for the affair itself, but also for the whole social history of the
Cave Hill from the late18th century onwards. The oldest prosecution
witness was 89-year-old James Grimshaw, Vice-President of the Rights
of Way Association, and senior member of the Grimshaw dynasty of cotton
manufacturers from Greencastle. He could remember the Volunteers enjoying
free access to the Volunteer Well in the previous century. [The Volunteers
were a Protestant militia formed in 1778 to counter the threat of
a French invasion of Ireland during the American War of Independence.
They quickly espoused radical politics and helped to obtain greater
independence for the Irish Parliament and further relaxation of the
Penal Laws against Catholics.] Other evidence was given about use
of the |
