“Let’s make the city safe, that’s the biggest single thing we can do,” Willie Jack MBE
The next episode of UTV’s award-winning current affairs programme ‘Up Close’ takes a look at Belfast’s night time economy and examines what needs to be done to make Belfast more vibrant at night and attract more people into the city for the evening.
Airing on Thursday 14th March at 10.45pm, UTV’s Alison Fleming speaks to key figures in the hospitality and transport industries, local councillors, consumer and business groups and campaigners to try to unpick the issues having an impact on Belfast’s burgeoning nightlife scene, and what their thoughts are on solutions.
The Troubles, Covid-19, Northern Ireland’s licensing laws, lack of public transport and taxi infrastructure, revellers’ personal safety, a problematic drugs scene, and the lack of a central body responsible for nightlife, all play their part in holding Belfast back.
The Consumer Council has researched night time travel and how safe people feel. The findings are stark. 68% of respondents said that personal safety travelling at night and their concerns for their personal safety actually deterred them from travelling at least some of the time. That rose to 75% of people with a disability and 80% of female consumers.
Consequently, Alison examines the reasons behind the shortage of taxi drivers post pandemic, and speaks to Translink chief executive Chris Conway about a year round late night bus service.
Bar owner of over 50 years Willie Jack, MBE says the city needs a night time Czar to coordinate all the services required to make the city more vibrant, “We need to get a big personality….we need a manager. Let’s make the city safe. That’s the biggest single thing we can do. Get everybody into town and get them out safely. ”
Amy Lamé, London’s night time Czar agrees and points out that Belfast and London share the same challenges and opportunities. She feels that Belfast would benefit from a Czar. “You’ve got an incredibly rich history that should be preserved and also built, built upon. So I think the nights Czar or night-time advisor could really help make that happen.”
Alison also asks, “Is ‘going out early’ the new ‘staying out late’?” She looks at this growing trend and how local venues are responding to the shift in demand. She talks to Joe Dougan of the Limelight about an over 30s event running from 5pm to 9pm which sold out in just five minutes.
Colin Neill, Hospitality Ulster believes the answer lies in capitalising on our unique pub culture and not to try to replicate what goes on in other cities, “We’re not Brazil, we’re Northern Ireland. Let’s not copy other people, let’s build a unique product. We already have the foundations.” he says.
Alison, who also produced the programme said: “This is a complex issue that won’t be solved overnight. There are rays of hope that late night transport will soon improve and that a soon to be appointed night time Czar will make inroads and effect real change for the public, businesses and policy makers.”
‘Up Close’ airs Thursday night at 10.45pm on UTV. You can catch up afterwards on ITVX. Go to Categories, then News, pick UTV as your region and scroll across to the programme.
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