Belfast City Council Full Council Meeting - September 2026

What to Expect

Belfast City Council holds a full council meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at 6.00pm, and the September 2026 sitting, on Wednesday 2 September, is the first full meeting since the summer recess. It takes place in the Council Chamber at City Hall, where all 60 councillors sit to debate motions, receive committee reports referred up from the month’s earlier committee meetings, and take formal decisions on matters ranging from planning and licensing to the council’s own budget and policy priorities. As the council’s principal decision-making meeting, full council tends to be the best-attended and most closely followed of Belfast’s public meetings, particularly when contentious motions or major capital projects are on the agenda. All meetings are open to the public and can be attended in person or watched live online. Councillors representing all of Belfast’s district electoral areas take their seats in the chamber, and the meeting typically opens with the Lord Mayor presiding over formal business before moving into substantive debate, giving residents a chance to see the full range of party positions on any given issue play out in one sitting, from housing and community safety to the council’s own budget and capital investment plans.

Good to Know

• Date: Wednesday 2 September 2026, 6.00pm, the first full council meeting after the summer recess.
• Venue: Council Chamber, City Hall, Donegall Square North, Belfast.
• Free to attend, open to the public, no booking required for the public gallery.
• Meetings are broadcast live at belfastcity.public-i.tv and archived online within two working days for anyone who cannot attend.
• The full agenda and supporting committee reports are published in advance at minutes.belfastcity.gov.uk.
• Council meetings run monthly on the first Wednesday, with committee meetings covering individual policy areas held earlier in the same month.

Getting There

City Hall sits in the heart of Belfast city centre on Donegall Square, a short walk from Belfast Great Victoria Street and Lanyon Place train stations and served by Translink Metro and Glider bus routes from across County Antrim. The nearest bus stops are directly on Donegall Square.