by Gareth Cross
A local councillor has described Derry and Belfast's bid for the European Capital of Culture 2023 as a 'reckless gamble'.
On Thursday, it emerged that a joint bid between the cities for the title was no longer in the running after the European Commission said that a city within the UK will not be allowed to host the event due to Brexit.
Belfast City Council had committed £500,000 towards staging the bid, with Derry Council putting in £300,000.
A spokesperson for local said that to date, Derry City and Strabane District Council and Belfast City Council have spent a total of £350,000 to date out of the total budget of £800,000.
However, the spokesperson did not say how much Derry City and Strabane District Council had contributed to the £350,000 spend.
The bid was discussed at the monthly meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council held at the Guildhall on Thursday.
Speaking at the meeting, Sinn Fein councillor Paul Fleming suggested that standing orders be suspended to discuss the decision by the European Commission (EC) to prohibit cities in the UK from taking part due to Brexit.
Cllr Fleming said he echoed the 'disappointment' felt at the news the bid could not proceed.
He pointed out that council staff had done a lot of work to progress the bid.
Cllr Fleming said that Brexit 'would be detrimental' to the six counties and that this was another example.
He asked the council’s Chief Executive John Kelpie for an update on how much money was spent on the bid and said nothing more should be spent until the matter is 'cleared up',
SDLP councillor Martin Reilly said he was 'extremely disappointed' council could no longer bid for the 'prestigious title'.
He told the meeting that the Brexit vote took place before the bid process began and that the EC 'knew full well we would leave'.
Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionist councillor Derek Hussey said that ‘members will remember I asked the question what impact Brexit would have on the bid’.
Alderman Hussey told the meeting he was concerned that Belfast would take primacy in the bid and that seemed to be the case.
The independent Cllr Gallagher said he would have been disappointed if the bid had not been successful.
However, he described the bid as a 'reckless gamble' and asked council not to behave like a ‘typical gambler and throw good money after bad’.
Cllr Gallagher noted councillors were asking Mr Kelpie about how much money was spent and said that 'councillors knew what they were doing' when they voted in favour of the plan.
He added that councillors had committed ratepayer's money and run into a brick wall.
The Sinn Fein councillor Mickey Cooper claimed that Cllr Gallagher had voted in favour of the bid and that this was 'on record'.
DUP councillor Hilary McClintock said that ‘questions must be asked why the bid was accepted in the first place’.
Alderman McClintock said that council had been 'led up the garden path' in relation to the bid.
Independent unionist councillor Maurice Devenney said that although the UK was leaving the EU ‘we are not leaving Europe’.
DUP Alderman Drew Thompson told the meeting the decision was an example of ‘the petulance we have come to expect from the EU’.
Council Chief Executive John Kelpie said that Derry and Belfast's bid was submitted four weeks ago and that problems only emerged last Thursday morning.
He said that council was due to attend an interview in London on Tuesday in relation to the bid and that extensive preparations had been undertaken.
Mr Kelpie said that discussions were ongoing regarding the issue but told council: “It doesn't look good at this point.”
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