Concern about problem of broken glass on Derry Walls

Colr. Kelly’s appeal comes after he was contacted by constituents who were concerned about the safety of their dogs when walking the Walls.

“I receive complaints regularly from people who exercise their pets on the Walls and in our local parks and from families with young children who would use the green spaces, concerned about the amount of broken glass strewn on the green areas and walkways.

“They are worried about the broken glass and the dangers this presents for people using these areas and for their children and pets,” added Colr. Kelly.

Just this week Colr. Kelly said he was contacted by a constituent whose dog narrowly avoided cutting its paws on broken glass.

“They just wanted me to highlight the dangers this would present for someone particularly with a guide dog. This would be obviously very painful for the dog. Blind and partially-sighted people rely on guide dogs for their freedom, mobility and independence.

“I would appeal to people using parks and greens spaces in Derry not to break glass on purpose, and always get rid of glass and rubbish carefully and think of other people. It is constant battle for our council workers who do an excellent job cleaning up the mess left behind by those smashing and breaking bottles and who care little about their actions.”

Meanwhile, a special inter-agency meeting took place earlier this week to try and find a resolution to the ongoing issues affecting St. Columb’s Park.

Elected members, the PSNI, Council officers and community representatives met to discuss the anti-social behaviour, alcohol consumption and criminal incidents taking place in the park which have escalated in recent weeks.

The meeting was convened by the City Centre Manager, Jim Roddy, in response to concerns relating to the increased numbers of young people involved and the increasing regularity of the incidents.

All attending the meeting agreed that many of the incidents are alcohol related and supported the call for police to prioritise the area over the coming weeks as a matter of urgency and to allocate the necessary resources to prevent any reoccurrence.

Community representatives, elected members and council officers are to continue to work in partnership with PSNI and support their actions to ensure that the park and the surrounding area remains a shared space for everyone to enjoy.