Go down, you murderers, go down
Since the nineteenth century a grand edifice has stood on the corner of Queen Street and College Street in the centre of Belfast. Originally known as Swanston Linen Warehouse it has more recently become known as the Athletics Stores. This building has survived two world wars, a war of independence and the Troubles but finally the cold hand of death is to descend upon it thinks to the ultimate axis of evil - Belfast City Council, Carlisle Developments and the Ministry of the Environment.
Back in June last year the malevolent Carlisle Developments decided that the Athletics Store would have to go but they were stopped in their tracks by the architectural heritage mob. As a consequence of the challenge the decision was taken out of their hands and went to those stout defenders of Belfast's integrity on the city council.
Come November the grey-faced leeches of the Council (with, to their credit, the exception of Sinn Fein) voted to destroy one of the city's best-known landmarks to make way for that infamous buzzword that his blighted this city - apartments.
There was one last hurdle to climb in the shape of the Minister of the Environment, none other than the SDLP's Alex Attwood, a man whose entire political career seems to have consisted of kissing police backside and little else. Surprise surprise to barely a whimper from the local media the other day Attwood announced that once again the politicians and the property developers were climbing into bed together. If anything the only shock about this announcement is that it has taken so long in coming as the chances of a timer-serving member of the establishment like Twattwood ever putting the city's heritage ahead of kickbacks was less than nought.
Have these idiots learned nothing from the "property crash" a few years ago? How many buildings have they torn down for "apartments" only to find said flats unsellable? They have blown millions on making a song and dance about some bloody failure of a boat that was thrown together here a hundred years ago yet they continue their headlong rush to destroy every last vestige of the town in which their precious Titanic was built in the first place.
So fair well then, old friend, another victim of the symbiotic relationship between the professional destroyers who call themselves property developers and the professional destroyers who call themselves politicians, truly a marriage made in hell. In the name of so-called progress they have positively raped this city and instead of a beautiful old building we will have another repulsive slab of glass and chrome destroying our vistas. Thank you very much, Mr Attwood.
Back in June last year the malevolent Carlisle Developments decided that the Athletics Store would have to go but they were stopped in their tracks by the architectural heritage mob. As a consequence of the challenge the decision was taken out of their hands and went to those stout defenders of Belfast's integrity on the city council.
Come November the grey-faced leeches of the Council (with, to their credit, the exception of Sinn Fein) voted to destroy one of the city's best-known landmarks to make way for that infamous buzzword that his blighted this city - apartments.
There was one last hurdle to climb in the shape of the Minister of the Environment, none other than the SDLP's Alex Attwood, a man whose entire political career seems to have consisted of kissing police backside and little else. Surprise surprise to barely a whimper from the local media the other day Attwood announced that once again the politicians and the property developers were climbing into bed together. If anything the only shock about this announcement is that it has taken so long in coming as the chances of a timer-serving member of the establishment like Twattwood ever putting the city's heritage ahead of kickbacks was less than nought.
Have these idiots learned nothing from the "property crash" a few years ago? How many buildings have they torn down for "apartments" only to find said flats unsellable? They have blown millions on making a song and dance about some bloody failure of a boat that was thrown together here a hundred years ago yet they continue their headlong rush to destroy every last vestige of the town in which their precious Titanic was built in the first place.
So fair well then, old friend, another victim of the symbiotic relationship between the professional destroyers who call themselves property developers and the professional destroyers who call themselves politicians, truly a marriage made in hell. In the name of so-called progress they have positively raped this city and instead of a beautiful old building we will have another repulsive slab of glass and chrome destroying our vistas. Thank you very much, Mr Attwood.