Not one Belfast Bike station in Balmoral, and little to no cycling infrastructure, something I’ve consistently raised. If we’re serious about promoting active travel and creating new ways for people to get around the city and their local community, we need to invest locally to make it happen.

Belfast at its finest

The Belfast I live in is inclusive, diverse, and welcoming, and today we had thousands of people on the streets of Belfast making that very clear. #belfast

Belfast Learning Week kicks off on the 8th June, a week long annual festival which celebrates learning in exciting and innovative ways. You can find the full programme of events here -> www.belfastcity.gov.uk/BelfastLearn...

The community sector are getting hit with huge cuts later this week from the UK Govt. Jobs will be lost. Services will come to an end. Orgs will be battling for scraps. Increased pressure will follow. Politicians shifting blame about for political point scoring serves no one.

Bizarre, instead of expanding free parking why don’t they invest more in active travel and public transport? SDLP tried to put this forward at Council and no one else would support it. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/free-pa...

Free parking announced for St Patrick's Day festivities in NI cities

Parking in public spaces will be free on St Patrick’s Day in some Northern Ireland cities after a change in legislation that brings the day in line with other holidays.

belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Listening to GMU and the SDLP stating that recent decisions on pitches was Alliance calling a referendum on GAA. This was never about GAA for us, this was about removing the biggest music venue without an alternative. But don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh?

Update on Boucher Road: Cllrs backed our calls to defer ceasing events at Boucher Road until we get the reports on: •Alternative site options •Hybrid option on the site •Support for local residents through licensing •Economic impact •Enhanced support for the music industry

I’ll be putting forward that we delay plans to close Boucher Road as an event venue, until we have an alternative plan on where these events can be held. This decision is short sighted and we need to take a moment to think this through.

Andy Burnham being blocked by Labour’s NEC from contesting the Gorton and Denton by-election will be seen as Starmer running scared, not their ability to afford an mayoral by-election. Short sighted. Andy may be Labours last hope at a revival before the next GE.

Received agreement at committee this afternoon to go out to consultation with residents of Prince Andrew Park and Prince Andrew Gardens to rename the streets. Council will begin engagement with those residents regarding the possible renaming, following approval at full Council.

Bizarrely, the SDLP put forward at committee this evening that we stop fining people who don’t pay for parking in BCC car parks on St Patrick’s Day. The reasoning - DfI don’t fine people who don’t pay for parking on St Patrick’s Day. Not a dept we should be following the examples of.

Enjoyed spending a little time with Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social this morning, courtesy of Young at Art as part of Belfast Children’s Festival. Micky has been an inclusive, community-focused Lord Mayor for our city over his short tenure, representative of NI’s younger generations. Progress.

Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social welcomes participants to the city of Belfast: “I'm delighted to say that our city welcomes people. We are delighted to have trade union activist leaders from all across Europe here with us in Belfast today.”

Kudos to Belfast City Council & @allianceparty.bsky.social councillor, Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social , for supporting @equityuk.bsky.social Safe Home campaign for post-show performers and stage management. My @britishtheatreguide.info news story: www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/belfast...

Theatre news: Belfast City Council donates to Equity’s Safe Home campaign

Equity Northern Ireland safeguarding campaign benefits from £10,000 support.

britishtheatreguide.info

Our tourism industry really are incredible! This morning I had the pleasure of speaking at the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism seminar at Titanic Belfast, which is focused on further breaking down barriers and promoting Belfast as a city of accessible tourism.

Early on in my term I met w/ Minority Recognition Awards & discussed a platform for ethnic minority professionals coming to NI to make the transition easier & help build connections. Today, we launched the Minorities Business Network NI platform which will do just that! mbnni.com

I proudly led the Belfast Pride march last year, as the first openly gay Lord Mayor of Belfast. I’m a seasoned rights campaigner, who has been at the forefront of every campaign. No one, will dictate to me whether I can or can’t march in a pride march.

No matter how many people I mute or block on Twitter my entire feed is pro-trump propaganda 🙄

Out on Stockmans Lane today w/ Cllr Tara Brooks & some local activists. I secured the social value fee paid by promoters using Boucher Rd being ring fenced for use in the local area, and it was great to hear from residents today on how they would like this used to benefit the community.

Spent my afternoon at Girdwood Community Hub for the @politicsinaction.bsky.social conference on the Democracy: threats and opportunities.

This morning I opened the 4 Corners Festival, focused on celebrating those who are working towards building a more inclusive, peaceful Belfast. We hosted individuals from a range of organisations as part of todays event to allow for networking and collaborative working.

There are some rest great moments in this job, but being able to return to Anna House today to help celebrate Dorothy’s 100th birthday is definitely up there!

This morning I spoke at our networking event in City Hall for our Violence Against Women and Girls Local Action Fund. Great to see soo many orgs attending to hear more about the fund and how to apply. For more info visit belfastcity.gov.uk/endviolence

Today I joined Youth Lyric to get a glimpse of their rehearsals for their upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland. Such unbelievable talent in this group of young people, I’m really excited to see the entire production in March!!

Great to catch up with James Applegate and Dori Winters, the US Consul General and deputy Consul General in Belfast today.

Great morning at the launch of the Belfast Children’s Festival, there’s soo many incredible events to look forward to for the whole family. The festival runs from 6th - 15th March, and you can check out their programme at youngatart.Co.uk

Today marks a significant step forward in securing the future of Harland and Wolff, as Navantia announce their acquisition and investment. I had the pleasure of joining staff at Harland and Wolff this morning to talk about the importance of ship building in our city’s history and our future.

When we partnered up with PBNI to help bring Annadale Allotments back to its former glory I don’t think anyone could have imagined the transformation. Through their work they’ve opened up more allotment space and transformed the space, so impressed with all their work! Thank you!

Today, as we remember those who died at the hands of the Nazi’s I laid flowered to remember all those LGBTQIA+ people who were detained in concentration camps, and later moved to state prisons after they were closed down. We must do everything within our influence to prevent hate spreading.