Belfast Pitches Strategy - Have your voice heard (further info)

Dear friends of Belfast Botanic Meadow,

A reminder that the draft Belfast Playing Pitches and Outdoor Sports Facilities Strategy 2026-2036 is out for consultation. This is the Strategy that threatens to see Lower Botanic Gardens lost to the provision of an artificial turf sports pitch. 

The Consultation on the Pitches Strategy is open until 8 December 2026.

The online survey for the consultation is here. It is a short survey but it is worth completing as a means of expressing concern.

There are at least five main grounds for objecting to the Strategy itself, as it is currently drafted:

1. 1. Breach of the principles re: public consultation
   2. Wrong-headed rationale for the Strategy
   3. Tensions with other BCC strategies
   4.  Weak  compared to other Pitches Strategies
   5.  Governance and accountability risks

Plus at least five grounds for concern re: Lower Botanic Gardens:

1.  It is a designated Local Landscape Policy Area, therefore requires protection
2. The social and demographic nature of Botanic district
3. The financial waste and cost to taxpayers
4. The environmental impact
5. Local support to keep Botanic Meadow 

For information on all these, please follow this link on the Botanic Meadow website: https://botanicmeadow.com/pitches-strategy 

Please email botanicmeadow@proton.me if you would like more information on this or to get involved in volunteering for the meadow.  

Thank you so much! Every response counts.