Advertising Campaign To Help Belfast Traders

A £600,000 advertising campaign is in the pipeline to help Belfast traders whose businesses have been affected by the ongoing union flag protests.

Finance minister Sammy Wilson was speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show.

He said the aim of the campaign was to "get people back into the city centre and into businesses".

Many traders have expressed concern over the cost to the city economy caused by unionists and loyalists protesting over the restriction of the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the protests have cost an estimated £15m so far.

Sammy Wilson said the campaign could start next week.

"We're taking immediate action and then we're looking in the medium-term around coming up the major events in the summer, we can do some more to promote businesses across Northern Ireland," he told the BBC.

Belfast City Council agreed a rates freeze earlier this month, in a move to help traders affected by the protests. It did, however, rule out a rates holiday.

"Some of these businesses are talking about laying off 20 or 30 people - even if it was possible legally to give them a rates holiday for say three months, that might mean about £3,000 or £4,000 for them," the Finance Minister explained.

"That's not going to save those jobs, what you need is people coming in and spending money on a daily basis and that's why it was the organisations themselves who said, 'look what we want is some help with an immediate campaign to get people back in and spending money so that our members can pay their bills'."

He added: "All we can do is say to protesters 'don't destroy the economy of your own country'.

"Let's promote the city but let's also appeal to those who are engaging in these destructive protests to exercise some restraint and find other ways of expressing their anger and their frustration."

(IT)