Council’s plan to tackle anti-social behaviour in Holyland area welcomed
A NEW push by Belfast City Council to tackle anti-social behaviour during Halloween has been “cautiously” welcomed by a Holyland residents’ group.
It comes after the council announced additional resources intended to combat problem drinking and excessive disruption by students in south Belfast this week, with joint patrols in place with the PSNI.
During a special meeting held on Tuesday evening, People Before Profit councillor Michael Collins, who chairs the People and Communities committee, “agreed to target extra resources in the Holyland and Lower Ormeau areas to tackle issues such as noise and on-street drinking”.
Brid Ruddy, chair of College Park Avenue Residents’ Association, welcomed the commitment and said recent PSNI patrols have seen the area “much quieter”.
She added: “We are happy that this is happening. Cautiously optimistic. It should have happened years ago. Police and safer neighbourhood officers should always have been doing joint patrols.
“It is not before time, we welcome this and it needs to be a year-round commitment. Sunday to Thursday — every week there is still problems.
“It is totally disruptive, totally negative. I have a friend who doesn’t leave her house in the evenings because of the abuse that she receives. People — morning, noon, and night — staggering around drunk is quite scary.
“One of my neighbours, her child asked why there were so many ‘zombies’ around. It was people on drugs during the middle of the day. The situation has definitely reached crisis point.”
In a direct plea to students, Ms Ruddy urged those with influential voices to “speak out”.
“There are many students who don’t like being labelled as anti-social or disruptive. It needs students themselves to stop this disruptive, anti-community behaviour,” she said.
A Queen’s University Belfast spokesperson said: “Queen’s University welcomes Belfast City
Council’s statement regarding their commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour in south Belfast.
“The universities and colleges work in partnership throughout the year to sustain and enhance relationships with residents and community groups in the Holyland area.”
An Ulster University spokesperson said: “Our university representatives, alongside the Ulster University Students’ Union, continue to be active on the ground working closely with the PSNI and Belfast City Council to support interventions where appropriate. We are proud of our role in the community and the positive contribution our talented students make to society but we will not tolerate any level of anti-social behaviour by a minority who bring their institution into disrepute.”
A PSNI spokesman commented: “We’ll have additional resources over the coming days across the city, working alongside our partner agencies, and will continue our robust approach to anti-social behaviour and criminal offences.”