Holylands residents are bracing themselves for St Patrick's Day this week as they issue a call for people to respect the area where they live.
The South Belfast area has become a controversial hotspot for partying and disruption on St Patrick's day for over a decade, with those living in the area saying they worry about the safety of their families and homes amidst the "out of control drinking".
Speaking to Belfast Live, residents say they expect to see problems throughout the week and are hoping the police, council and universities will be taking action to ensure that any anti-social behaviour is dealt with.
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One resident said that the issue wouldn't be such a concern to them if the partying was isolated to one day of the year but instead they are experiencing "a St Patrick's three or four times a week".
They said: "Every time that you hear the music start up and people drinking, your heart sinks worrying about what you might have to face that night.
"While my family love living in the Holylands, over the past few years we have been faced with a constant stream of problems with people banging our door late at night, urinating on our property, and keeping people up all night due to the anti-social behaviour.
"You could let some of this go if it was a rare event, but residents here are experiencing a St Patrick's Day three to four times a week.
"In the lead up to St Patrick's Day we have had people asking us if we are going to move away from the area for a few days to avoid any trouble, but we should not be put in a position where that would be considered a normal thing to do. We have a house here and shouldn't have to worry about leaving our house out of fear of what scenes our children could see outside of the front door.
"While it has been welcoming to see police making attempts to go after some of those causing problems here on social media, more needs to be done and we need to have patrols here between 11pm and 6am when the majority of the issues take place.
"I hope that there will be police and anti-social behaviour officers from the council throughout the area on St Patrick's Day and that they will make sure that they area is respected throughout the day."
They also said they believe that a change of culture is required in the Holylands in order to address the problem of anti-social behaviour, saying that effort needs to be made to bring more families into the area and reverse the trend of it being a hotspot for houses of multiple occupancy.
While their are worries ahead of St Patrick's Day, there are those in the community who are planning an alcohol-free community cultural event so that local residents and families will be able to enjoy the day.
The event has been organised with the help of funding from the Department for Communities and it is hoped that it will help to curb some of the anti-social behaviour in the area.
Organiser Brid Ruddy said: "We will be holding an alcohol free event from 11am onwards at the bottom of Carmel Street. Minister Hargey's funding has allowed this to happen.
"We expect a high level of support from all agencies as residents provide diversionsary cultural activities and present a more positive and proactive approach to resolving anti-social behaviour."
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