Belfast councillors rethink noise restriction on street preaching

A byelaw in Belfast which limits the volume of street preaching will be redrafted, after being rejected by councillors.

The new rules included restrictions on amplification for street preachers and buskers to 70 decibels, the level of a vacuum cleaner or washing machine, or be fined £500. Both the DUP and Alliance opposed it, with the former saying it went too far, and the latter seeking more restrictive measures.

Proponents claim the limit is needed to reduce noise in the city, but critics have pointed out that other loud activities such as pickets, charity collections and parades are exempt, and have warned that it attempts to “effectively ban open air preaching”.

Too loud?

Nora Largey, the City Solicitor, explained to the Council’s Committee: “There was a general consensus there were some performers, and when we say performers we include anybody who uses amplification in the city centre, who are simply too loud.”

Alliance Councillor Jenna Maghie, however, said she believes the proposals don’t go far enough, and specifically called for a bigger fine and a ban on graphic images used by pro-life campaigners.

DUP Alderman Dean McCullough said his party could not support a 70 decibel limit “that renders amplification effectively useless”.

He told the City Council: “From the outset, these bye-laws were driven by a desire to target certain groups, primarily street preachers and the pro-life witnesses.”

Gospel freedom

McCullough continued: “We heard references to so-called hate preachers, whatever that means, and we all sat through the debates on graphic imagery. We were told that showing the reality of abortion was too graphic.”

One suggested rule was that street preachers should be required to get a permit, but McCullough stated: “What utter folly on the part of some far-left councillors to believe that street preachers, members of the most persecuted religion on Earth, would ever seek or need their permission to preach.”

He added: “Jesus Christ is Lord. It is Christmas, and I don’t need a permit from this council to proclaim that.”

Back to the drawing board

The Institute’s Northern Ireland Policy Officer James Kennedy told the Belfast News Letter: “It is absolutely right that the plans to silence street preachers in Belfast have been sent back to the drawing board.”

He continued: “However, it is deeply concerning that some now seem intent on expanding their efforts to target wider Christian witness in the public square.”

Calling the 70-decibel limit “both impractical and unfairly selective”, Kennedy urged the council “to engage constructively with those involved in responsible street preaching and other Christian witness, rather than imposing blunt and ill-thought-through restrictions that risk unfairly discriminating against religious expression”.

He added: “The right to express deeply held beliefs in the public square is a fundamental freedom, and we trust the council will respect this as they reconsider their approach.”

Controlling speech

Nathan Anderson of free speech group Liberty NI commented: “If noise is truly the issue, why are the loudest activities exempt?”

“These inconsistencies suggest the measures may fall more heavily on preachers and small performers, especially given that seventy decibels is barely above normal street noise. Such a low limit risks singling out particular forms of expression and may sit uneasily with equality and human rights principles.”

On Facebook the group posted that the amplification limit is “unworkable”, adding: “It amounts to controlling speech by indirect means. Remember that this byelaw creates criminal offences. Ordinary people will end up criminalised.”

Denial of rights

In a letter to the Belfast News Letter, Revd Gordon Dane from the Free Presbyterian Church (FPC) wrote: “The bye-laws arose from attempts by some Belfast councillors to effectively ban open air preaching and literature distribution in the city centre. This could not be done because it would be a denial of rights.”

He stated: “There has been a tradition of open air preaching in Ulster towns and cities and it has normally been done with loud speaking equipment.

“There certainly needs to be sensitivity and courtesy but to effectively put an outright ban on loud speaking equipment is over the top.”

As the Convenor of the FPC’s government and morals committee, he explained: “They have extended the ban to buskers but this seems to be a cover for the restriction put on open air preaching and this has been the target of some councillors right from the start. If it is targeted at evangelical preachers it is discriminatory.”