If someone came along and half-ripped a poster for a gig you were putting on - (often) specifically the details - would you consider it sabotage or a valiant effort to keep the streets clear of messy posters? What if said person was the local council, doing this twice daily, and spending tens of thousands of pounds doing it?

The council have every right to rip down posters pasted on their property, and I’m supposing the developers who own a lot of the derelict buildings that are postered on would likely side with the council if it came down to it - it’s just something we have to live with. My problem, however, is that the argument for ripping posters down is that they are a visual nuisance and that they make Belfast look dirty - but those removing the posters have absolutely no regard for leaving the sites “tidy” - they’re just there to rip down as much as they can before they clock off. When posters are half ripped, the remnants left strewn over the footpath in a mushy pulp, where is the justification for a cleaner Belfast and the counter-argument that they are doing little more than undermining local independent promoters?

The second prong of the councils solution to dealing with fly-postering was to be dedicated poster sites - promised at least 3 years ago and even plans of which are still no where to be seen - inaction which again is damaging local promoters, deliberate or otherwise. In the past, depending on individual promoters to state their case has proved ineffective (namely the meeting the council arranged to debate the issue that no one turned up to), so maybe it’s time we grouped together to lobby for not only what the council has previously promised - but for better support in the future.

With Belfast now trying to find a cultural foothold that it can pitch to tourists, the council should be in a position of support and cultivation when it comes to the local music scene, not trying to discreetly brush it under the carpet. There’s only so far a handful of hateful murals and a sunken ship can take us.