A £220,000 underspend at Belfast City Hall has resulted in a tussle between the parties over whether to spend it on antisocial behaviour in parks or on glass recycling.
At the recent meeting of the Belfast City Council Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Alliance came up against the two largest parties by suggesting the underspend be spent on an overhaul in city glass recycling.
Sinn Féin, with support from the DUP and others, stressed the need for more wardens in parks experiencing antisocial behaviour issues.
Read more: Belfast councillors asked to consider raising their own pay
£220,254 became available to the council after elected members agreed that the Business Cluster and Community Grant scheme would not be reopened to new applications. Officers asked councillors if they wished to either re-allocate or add to council reserves.
After a vote at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, the money was reallocated to addressing antisocial behaviour in parks. 15 councillors were in support, while three Alliance councillors voted against.
Sinn Féin Councillor Matt Garrett said: “An initiative we have previously taken has been a pilot project in Dunville Park, which has had significant reports of antisocial behaviour. What we did was put resources into permanent park wardens at that site, and the results showed a dramatic decrease in antisocial behaviour across the park.”
He added: “Looking at the top five in the list for antisocial behaviour, you have Dunville Park, and Páirc Nua Chollann, a new park in the Colin area. There have been significant resources put in to deliver that park.
“Ormeau and Orangefield have also been indicated (in the list). There is a responsibility on us to do what we can to drive this down. The project in Dunville shows clearly the impact it has on antisocial behaviour.”
He proposed the reallocation of £220,254 go towards replicating the Dunville Park model by providing permanent new wardens in parks identified as high on the antisocial behaviour list, yet to be disclosed.
Alliance Councillor Michael Long said the money should go towards the kerbside glass expansion project, a project designed to be introduced by the 2024/25 financial year. He said: “I think the ratepayers deserve a better service than what they are getting, and we need to move that forward at pace. We need to be moving it on in terms of environmental protections for this city.
“Glass recycling is one of those things that is done to a better level than us by just about every council, and we need to catch up. And it will save money, as we recycle more glass and less goes to landfill. Given that this is already a priority project, I propose we spend the money on that.”
DUP Councillor George Dorrian said: “In terms of the parks proposal, we broadly support it, with the caveat that we have pilot projects north, south, east and west. I am not saying we identify the parks today, but if that was the principle we would be happy to support it.”
Sinn Féin agreed to the DUP suggestion, and the reallocation decision will return to the full council next week for ratification.
READ NEXT:
Belfast bin collections: Three quarters of missed pick-ups down to cars blocking streets
Alliance and nationalist parties clash over Irish street signs for West Belfast Gaeltacht
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
