Frustrated residents plead for alley gate
A youth urinates against the wall of a house in Rock Terrace. Residents say a gate across the entrance to the street would bring an end to antisocial behaviour in the area
Residents of a city centre street say they are growing increasingly frustrated by ongoing anti-social behaviour and they have reissued a plea for a gate to be erected across their street.
People living in Rock Terrace, off the Strand Road, say they have endured years of problems associated with late night revellers.
In June of last year, the ‘Journal’ reported that residents were pushing for a gate to be erected across the street - keeping revellers out and giving residents a sense of security.
Speaking to the ‘Journal’ yesterday, one resident of the street says the residents of the six occupied houses in the street are now at their wit’s end.
“Little has changed,” he says. “Residents have absolutely no peace of mind in their own homes.”
The Rock Terrace resident says fights, urinating in the street and noise are commonplace occurrences. He says cars and doors of houses have also been vandalised. The resident says a series of meeting facilitated by the Aberfoyle and Duncreggan Residents Association and involving local licensees have proved little more than a “talking shop.”
“All we want is a bit of privacy, a bit of decorum to be restored to the street, to feel safe in our houses. The time for talking has passed and we would hope our calls for this gate are listened to.
“We have absolutely nothing against the owners of the bars in the area and understand that they have a right to make a living. But we would ask them to support us in pressing for a gate.”
The resident says there is a feeling that there has been little progress over the past number of year because there are so few residents. “If there were 40 or 50 people calling for this, maybe things would have moved quicker,” he says.
He says a gate, to be closed at night and reopened in the mornings, would be the ideal solution to the ongoing difficulties.
A Derry City Council spokeswoman says the local authority is keen to address residents’ concerns. “Meetings were organised by the Aberfoyle and Duncreggan Residents to discuss a number of issues of concern to residents.
“It is understood that the chair of the meetings, Jim Roddy of the CCI, is in contact with the Road Service in relation to the request for a gate to be installed.
“The Council understands the frustration of residents in the Rock Terrace area and is keen to work directly with them in an effort to help resolve their concerns,” she said.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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