A controversial plan to erect £60,000 gates around a small city park has reached its endgame as work got underway this week.
At Belfast Council in February last year, Sinn Féin, the DUP and Alliance faced off against the SDLP and the Greens over a ratified decision to close Crescent Park, in the Botanic area, at night, as soon as the new deluxe gates were erected.
An SDLP proposal to stop the gates fell. A vote resulted in eight votes in favour of the SDLP and the Greens, and 48 against from all the other parties in the chamber.
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Belfast Council are spending £35,000 on the new gates with the other £25K coming from private donors.
Those in favour of the gates said they would counter antisocial behaviour and drug taking in the small park of Botanic Avenue, which is surrounded by apartments and businesses, and has seen restoration in recent years. Others said it was a reversal of council policy to open parks, and local businesses voiced concerns about the plan.
SDLP Botanic councillor Gary McKeown said this week: "It's really disappointing to see gates being installed at Crescent Park to close it off in the evening. This is one of the few parks in Belfast which is open 24/7, but that will soon be ending.
"At a time when we should be encouraging people to use our parks more and making them more accessible, this move flies in the face of this, which is why we opposed it.
"There was a great degree of community opposition to this, and the gates are so low that they'll do little to stop people from getting into the park if they really want to, but this could result in injury.
"Like any park, this one has its own challenges, but the answer isn't to close it off – the solution is to make it more attractive, encourage more people to use it, and look after it.
"Despite the gates going in, we'll still be pushing for investment in this park, which offers a little oasis of green for workers, students and residents in an otherwise built-up area."
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