Council counts cost of bonfires

Figures just released show that the Council forked out the fourth highest amount of the province’s 26 local authorities to remove debris and clean up bonfire sites.

The overall council expenditure in Northern Ireland on bonfires has increased by over 40,000 from last year, with Belfast City Council spending the most.

Their 54,000 repair bill went towards sites such as the contentious pyre located near the entrance of Belfast City Hospital.

Only Strabane, Fermanagh and Newry & Mourne incurred no bonfire-related costs.

As well as council expenditure on the bonfires, which cost nearly 160,000, many bonfires were located in housing estates and close to public roads, leaving the Housing Executive and Roads Service to help pay for the clean-up operation.

In Ballymena, the Housing Executive spent 3,980 removing bonfire remains, cleaning sites, etc.

Province-wide, the Roads Service had the job of removing bonfire material from public roads and the emergency services also incurred extra costs.