We the undersigned would like to bring to your attention the ongoing issues of vandalism, and litter within the parks in North Belfast.

Parks are vital to North Belfast. Not only do open spaces help improve the mental and physical health of local population. They’re also great spaces for events and for people to engage in recreational activities such as community gardens and sports and Fishing

Our parks bring communities together peacefully through a shared space and provide a wonderful way for young children to learn about the natural world; a safe place to play and develop new skills.

Our parks offer natural habitats for an array of wildlife which is essential. As cities develop, more and more animals depend on these green areas to live and thrive. The trees provide carbon sinks to help remove a wide variety of dangerous pollutants from the air as well as acting as a natural flood management.

Our parks also have an array of historical significance which is of interest to both locals and tourists. E.g. Historical settlements on Cave hill, The peace wall in Alexandra park etc

With this in mind we are urging the council to do more to tackle the ongoing vandalism and litter problems and antisocial behaviour currently faced in our local parks.

Some of the parks facing the greatest problems are Cave hill Country Park. Waterworks, Alexandra park, Lough side playground and Grove playing fields.

These problems include but are not limited to littering ,graffiti, drug use, underage drinking ,fires, vandalism and dog fouling

Please see attached documents for evidence and examples of litter vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

We urge the council to look and implement the following recommendations to improve parks for service users seen below. So service users and wildlife can continue to enjoy our local parks.

1.The provision of more bins, in order to reduce the amount of litter that is currently in the parks. Especially around areas that are high use areas such as playgrounds and Cave hill paths .

2.Clean the waterways and rivers in our parks, remove litter and overgrowth to prevent waterways going stagnant and help protect the parks ecosystem. Especially invasive species like Himalayan Balsam

3.More council run park events with particular focus on preserving local nature and history and conservation. Eg building birds’ nests/Bee hotels , Litter removal days etc

4. Repair all signs destroyed by vandalism and graffiti and use signs to emphasize the rich history of local parks

5.Impose more frequent monitoring by the council by park wardens. Keep all the parks entrances well lit with security floodlights and introduce CCTV as deterrents for antisocial behaviour and vandalism.