Children have been stacking wheelie bins on top of one another to access the abandoned property
The bins stacked on one another
There has been a call for an entry in North Belfast to be closed off permanently in order to stop children accessing an abandoned building and non-stop fly-tipping.
Residents living beside the entry at Harcourt Drive have said they have called for it to be closed off completely in order to stop the issues in the area, which include waste regularly being dumped all over the alley and children playing on and accessing an abandoned building.
Children have been stacking wheelie bins that have been left grouped together following collections on top of one another and using these to climb onto the roof of an abandoned former takeaway.
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Children on top of the abandoned takeaway
The entry has alleygates installed on them, however these have not stopped any of the issues as they can be opened.
Speaking to Belfast Live, one local resident said they have asked the council for the entry to be closed off entirely in order to stop any further issues, saying that it is disgusting to live beside due to the waste that is regularly dumped there.
Some of the dumping in the alley
They said: “Every day I have to walk past everything from used nappies to food waste dumped all around the alley which is leading to a build up of rats and other pests. It is disgusting that we have to live beside it and quite often it is not people who live directly beside the entrance where everything is dumped that are causing the issue.
“Not only that, but due to the way that the bins are left all bunched up at the end of the alley when they have been collected, kids are stacking them on top of one another in order to climb into an abandoned takeaway and it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.
“There is an alleygate installed on the entry and while it has been good to deter anti-social behaviour we had when I first moved in, they are not much use when it comes to these issues. I have asked the council to see if they can do something to address the issue but it has now got to the point that the entry needs to be closed off entirely.”
Some of the dumping in the alley
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “Belfast City Council takes reports of this nature seriously, and cleansing teams work across the city each day, removing rubbish from alleyways, including dumped items, and responding to requests for service from residents. Fly tipping is illegal, and every report we receive is investigated. Where there is enough evidence, we will take enforcement action against those responsible. Anyone caught illegally dumping waste or leaving excess rubbish on our streets may face a fixed penalty notice of £80 or £400, depending on the scale of the offence.
“We encourage residents to use our recycling centres and the free bulky waste collection service. Instances of fly tipping can be reported to us directly so we can take prompt action. Reports can be made online at https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/streetcleaning or by calling 028 9037 3006. We encourage all residents to play their part in keeping our city clean by using our free bulky waste collection service (028 9027 0230), along with our recycling centres.
A child climbing onto the abandoned building using stacked wheelie bins
“Anti-social behaviour can be reported to the PSNI non-emergency number on 101. Information about how Belfast City Council addresses anti-social behaviour can be found at https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/asb. This page contains contact details for our Anti-Social Behaviour Officers, along with other organisations that can help.”
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