North Belfast peace barrier opened

:::u.tv:::
27 Feb 2012

**Video onsite

A metal barricade which has separated Catholic and Protestant communities in north Belfast for over 20 years has been opened.

It was originally set up in the 1980s to bar traffic at the junction of Limestone Road and Newington Street, following sectarian clashes at the interface.

Now it will remain open from 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday for three months until a review takes place.

Local community worker Kate Clarke has welcomed the move.

She said: "It became a question of how do we strengthen relations within communities, and it was seen that these barriers were an element that stood out as showing division so how could we address those?"

Working class areas of north Belfast suffered heavily during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, with many losses arising from paramilitary violence on both sides.

Murderous gangs like the Shankill Butchers targeted Catholics there, and nearby Ardoyne's Holy Cross school made world headlines when Catholic children were targeted walking to school in 2001.

Tensions also remain in areas where sporadic bouts of rioting linked to dissident republicans and Orange Order marches still occur.

Justice Minister David Ford said the reopening of the gateway marks the latest in a series of steps towards bringing divided communities in the city together.

"Progress in removing barriers will depend on community support and I welcome the engagement of the people in the Newington area who are prepared to take this positive step," the Alliance minister said.

"The Department of Justice is committed to working in partnership with local communities who want to remove such barriers and to take steps to build a shared future."

There are almost 90 barriers separating neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland, mostly in Belfast.

The International Fund for Ireland has dedicated a £2m peace walls programme towards bringing down the physical and non-physical divisions by supporting people on either side of the barricades.