Belfast City Council voted to reconsider a decision to end a planning enforcement investigation into a statue of Bobby Sands in Twinbrook, west Belfast. The statue stands over five feet tall beside the Republican Garden on Gardenmore Road. It depicts Sands carrying a flag during a republican parade before his 1976 arrest. The structure was unveiled in May last year.

Council officers investigated the statue last month after learning no planning application had been submitted. They decided against further action. DUP councillor Dean McCullough proposed a motion at a special full council meeting on Thursday evening expressing concern over that decision. The motion called for reconsideration to uphold planning responsibilities and apply rules consistently across communities. It also sought full transparency including internal documents and legal basis.

The DUP motion passed 27-22 with three abstentions from Green Party members. SDLP members did not vote. A Sinn Féin amendment for a city-wide review of memorials and murals failed 27-23. An SDLP amendment on flags and identity proposals also failed.

Sinn Féin councillor Ciarán Beattie stated the DUP motion attacked republicans' rights to remember their dead. He said planning law must apply consistently and enforcement on commemorative structures requires proportionality and respect. Beattie noted over 200 sites without permission exist, mostly in unionist areas.

DUP councillor Dean McCullough said planning rules must apply equally to all. DUP leader Sarah Bunting said council policy was bypassed and the statue became a city-wide issue after endorsement by senior Sinn Féin figures including First Minister Michelle O’Neill at the unveiling.

Green Party councillor Áine Groogan called the debate distraction politics. People Before Profit councillor Michael Collins said the issue was not about planning law but selective outrage. Council chief executive John Walsh defended officers against criticism of their conduct.