Belfast big wheel 'should keep on turning'
Halting Belfast’s Big Wheel would be a disaster for the city, it was claimed tonight.
The operators of the popular tourist attraction have expressed concern after it emerged the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has lodged an objection to a proposal to extend its stay in the grounds of City Hall.
The agency is trying to stop plans to keep the 60 metre wheel turning in the city centre for another nine months.
Although Belfast City councillors have backed a planning application to retain the famous landmark until August next year, the agency thinks it should no longer be accommodated beside the listed civic building.
The 100-year-old City Hall is currently closed for refurbishments and is due to open again next autumn.
World Tourist Attractions, which claims its Belfast wheel is second only to the one in London’s Hyde Park in terms of visitor numbers, said stopping it turning would send out the wrong message about the city.
“It would be a disaster for Belfast as a city,” said Nigel Ward from the company.
“This has been a highly successful attraction which has become iconic as a symbol of the city’s resurgence after the troubles.
“It would undoubtedly be a huge shame if we had to move it.”
The Big Wheel has been in the grounds of City Hall for the last year.
Mr Ward stressed that the application was only temporary and said the company would like to find a permanent home for the wheel elsewhere in the city. The redeveloped Titanic Quarter has been mooted as a possible venue.
However, he said with limited chances of finding somewhere at short notice if the planning extension was not granted, they may been forced to move the wheel on.
“We have always had a longer term plan to find an alternative venue within Belfast,” he said.
“But we’re not at that stage yet. We wanted to get this extension to give us a few more months to try and find a new home.”
A spokeswoman for the NIEA said: “When planning permission was originally granted for the Big Wheel it was our understanding that it was only a temporary arrangement.
“NIEA has already withheld an objection the last time an extension of planning permission was sought.
“However with the City Hall due to become operational again in the near future and given that there was an understanding that the wheel would be relocated elsewhere in the city, NIEA has decided to put down a marker to ensure that it does not become a permanent feature beside what is a listed building.”
