First Ulster Scots street sign for Belfast since changes to approval rule

An agreement to install Belfast's first Ulster-Scots bilingual street sign since the council changed its rules four years ago, shows the community is "beginning to engage with the language again," the Ulster-Scots commissioner has said.

Lee Reynolds said the sign, which will be installed at Ravenscroft Avenue in the east of the city, is a positive step.

Belfast City Council has approved hundreds of dual language streets since 1998 but the vast majority of them are in English and Irish only.

In 2022, the council changed its rules to lower the percentage of occupiers whose agreement is required before a bilingual sign can be installed.

Following a survey of residents and businesses in Ravenscroft Avenue, its street sign will soon include its Ulster-Scots translation - "Corbiescroft Evvenye".

BBC News NI spoke to some people who live and work in the area.

Alfie Smyth, who works in his family's carpet and flooring showroom at the northern end of Ravenscroft Avenue, is excited about the change.

"I think it's fantastic. I was wondering maybe why wasn't it done sooner," he said.

The 25-year-old businessman is the third generation of his family to work in the carpet shop which was founded by his grandfather decades ago.

Their building already hosts an English street sign as well as a plaque dedicated to people in the area who were killed by Belfast Blitz bombs during World War Two.

"If the sign does go on our building, it will be taken very good care of," Smyth said.

"I think it adds to the charm and the history."

Smyth explained that his family trace their own roots back hundreds of years to Scotland and added he was "quite emotive" when they responded to the survey.

"There's going to be a bit of recognition about the heritage and the culture surrounding [Ulster Scots]. I do think it's important to pass that on."

Currently, Belfast City Council's policy states that bilingual street sign applications require the support of at least 15% of the occupiers of the street in question.

In a recent consultation in Ravenscroft Avenue, a total of 110 occupiers were asked for their views.

Of those who responded, 19 were in favour of adding an Ulster-Scots translation - amounting to just over 17%.

Ten occupiers (9%) opposed the change while just one respondent had no preference either way.

The 15% threshold was introduced in 2022, amid objections from some unionists.

Prior to that, the council operated a policy from 1998 to 2022 under which the consent of two thirds (66.6%) of occupiers was required to approve new signs.

Under the previous policy, 226 Irish language signs were approved but only three Ulster-Scots signs were erected - at Oregon Gardens; Silverstream Park and Westway Crescent.

Reynolds said it was "nice to see that the language is being represented more in public life in this manner".

"It's part of showing a forward momentum, it's part of showing the community are beginning to engage with the language again."

Reynolds added that, historically, Ulster Scots has had a "strong" influence on speech in Belfast.

Among the many Ravenscroft residents who did not respond to the survey was a young man who described himself as a Catholic and an Irish language speaker.

"It wouldn't have made a difference to me either way so I didn't feel the need to fight it nor support it," he said.

The man has lived in the avenue for a number of years but did not want his name published.

"The neighbours are all friendly. I'm sure if they knew I was Catholic it wouldn't make a difference, but I do keep to myself and I fight for the Irish language online."

He added that Ulster Scots was "in the same boat as the Irish language" as regards being a tradition worth preserving.

"People coming in as visitors and tourists - getting to see these different languages is an eye-opener to them and could let them learn more of our history, rather than just the Troubles."

Nuala Symington, principal of Ravenscroft Primary School, said the school did not take part in the consultation because they wanted residents to make the decision, but she supports the result.

”We, as a school, welcome any opportunity for our community and our school to celebrate our shared history," she said.

Symington added the school has a strong ethos of equality, diversity and understanding and they would consider using the unveiling as a learning experience for pupils.

"For us with very small children, that looks like understanding the world within our school and just outside our doors and within our local community.

"So that would be a very relevant thing to help the children understand, and their families as well."

Among the 19 occupiers who supported the Ulster Scots sign was Robert, who has lived on Ravenscroft Avenue for almost three decades.

"I was actually quite glad to see somebody doing it," he said, adding that he believed the Irish language had been "weaponised" by some politicians.

Robert said he believed an Ulster Scots sign would "reflect more of the heritage of people from east Belfast".

He added there was a "personal aspect" to his vote because Scotland was "originally where my family are from, going away back hundreds and hundreds of years".

"It's more a case of identity as such - not trying to be better than one side or the other side - but just sort of like holding your own."

Additional reporting by Local Democracy's Michael Kenwood.