An Eleventh Night bonfire in full blaze near Chobham Street in east Belfast in 2015

BELFAST City Council is storing some 2,500 pallets for a contentious bonfire site which previously led to families being forced from their homes.

The local authority moved the pallets from the site at Bloomfield Walkway in the east of the city in recent weeks.

The Irish News last week revealed the council is storing hundreds of pallets for loyalists building a pyre near a city centre hotel.

Several senior councillors have voiced concern, with Sinn Féin saying it will oppose any attempts to return pallets to the Twelfth bonfire.

When the pallet storage controversy emerged, the council would not say whether it was holding materials for any other sites.

A spokesman would only say that the council "works with communities and statutory agencies to minimise the negative impacts of bonfires at sites across the city and decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis".

But The Irish News has since learned that pallets were removed from the Walkway site and put into storage.

The area – part of the Comber Greenway, a popular walking and cycling route stretching into the city – has been at the centre of recent bonfire controversies.

In 2015 several families were forced out of their homes and their windows had to be boarded up due to the heat from a towering 50ft bonfire built yards from houses on Chobham Street.

And last year it cost the council £6,000 to move children's playground equipment along the route because of the dangers posed by an Eleventh Night pyre.

In a further statement, a council spokesman said: "As part of this ongoing work, the council, in agreement with the local community, removed some 2,500 pallets from the site at Bloomfield Walkway.

"In the interests of the safety of our staff, it would not be appropriate for the council to disclose the location where the pallets are being stored."

He added that the council is "very aware of the negative impact of bonfires on communities", and again said it works to "minimise negative issues at bonfire sites".

Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown branded the council's actions a "breach of faith with ratepayers".

"This is a sad day for Belfast City Council. For an organisation with responsibility for good relations to store – without reference to elected members – bonfire materials is a breach of faith with ratepayers," he said.

"We expect public authorities to uphold the highest standards of conduct and behaviour and in this case we have been let down.

"Such decisions are far from operational. They are both political and contentious – and they should be made by elected representatives.

"I will be asking questions about the cost consequences for ratepayers."

It has also emerged that the council has stored pallets in previous years.

Some 800 pallets were removed from a bonfire site at Avoniel in east Belfast and stored "by agreement with the community".

A council spokesman said: "This was undertaken to minimise the impact of the gathering bonfire material on the ongoing physical work at that site as part of the multi-million pound Connswater Community Greenway development. All pallets removed were returned."

Asked if any councillors were made aware of or agreed to the storage of pallets, the council said: "These are operational decisions based on an assessment of risk, community tensions and the impact of intervention.

"Members are apprised on particular issues of significance pertaining to their relevant constituencies."