Ford equivocates over five Fountain security gates

JUSTICE Minister David Ford equivocated when asked by UUP MLA Ross Hussey to give a commitment to residents of Londonderry’s Fountain that five security gates near the estate would not be removed without their consent.
David Ford.David Ford.
David Ford.

He said he had to balance the views of residents with his responsibility to consign division and segregation to the past. Mr Ford refused to give any such guarantee and said the issue of consent was complex.

“Engagement is an essential part of the work my Department is undertaking on interfaces,” he said. “I am sensitive to both the views and perceptions of residents and the responsibility to create the conditions within which division and segregation can be consigned to the past.

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“The issue of consent is complex and I would not want to be prescriptive.”

The five security gates remain locked overnight. Eleven out of sixteen other security gates around the historic Walls have been removed.

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