Tortured Carnmoney residents call for restricted access to alleyway

For years local householders have been plagued by rowdy teenagers drinking in the area, verbally abusing residents, smashing windows and damaging cars. They now want the alleyway which links Carnmoney Road and Greenhill Road to be closed off at nights to stop the young people marauding through their estate.

One resident who spoke to the Times this week claimed that people living in Greenhill are being “tortured” by anti-social yobs.

The man, who didn’t want to be identified, stressed that “everyone in the area” is behind the bid to restrict access to the alleyway.

“Alley gates would make a real difference as they would cut off access to the street at nights.

“We’re realistic and we know that it’ll be a fight to get anything done, but we will keep going until someone listens to us and we get some action,” he said.

The angry resident also claimed that the police are not doing enough to deal with the persistent trouble.

“I’ve lived here for four years and in all that time I’ve only ever seen one police foot patrol.

“I know that the police are short of resources and that they can’t be everywhere at once, but surely there should be a higher level of policing in a known problem area. Surely it would make it easier for them if we had the alley gates and they didn’t have to keep getting called out for the same problems again and again.”

Alderman Nigel Hamilton, who has been supporting local residents in their call for an alleygating scheme, believes restricting access to the area in the evenings would help tackle the current problems more effectively than occasional patrolling by the PSNI.

“If properly managed alley gates will work, and the only stumbling block to achieving this is the position of Roads Service.

“The issue is one which has been met by intransigence and very little co-operation or understanding for local residents by the Roads Service. I have been persistently trying to achieve a solution now for over three years and if only the potential for a solution to this impasse could be recognised by the department, residents’ human rights would be given more than lip service,” he commented.

Mr Hamilton revealed that he is hoping to arrange a public meeting in the area early next month involving local residents, council officers, elected representatives, Roads Service officials and PSNI officers to discuss the ongoing problems.

A spokesperson for Roads Service confirmed that alleygating can be used to restrict access to adopted alleys or entries at the side or rear of people's homes. However, she warned that bringing an alleygating scheme to fruition could be a lengthy process requiring a great deal of pre-planning.

“The stages include: the consultation process with the local community, obtaining legal consent from homeowners (and landlords), consulting with the emergency services, statutory bodies, utilities and other interested parties, periods of "due notice", securing funding, erection of the gates, issuing and management of keys and putting in place mechanisms for dispute resolution etc. Experience would suggest that this pre-planning process could take on average 12 months,” she explained.