Constructive multi-agency meeting on Melvin Walkway drinking den problem -Sinn Féin

Strabane Sinn Féin councillors have described as ‘constructive’ a multi-agency meeting held this morning to explore measures to prevent the disabled ramp alongside the Melvin walkway, between the Bridgend area and Ballycolman Estate of the town, being used as a ‘notorious drinking den’ in an effort to bring an end to the serious levels of vandalism and anti-social behaviour that residents in surrounding communities have been having to endure.

Sinn Féin called for the convening of the multi-agency meeting, through the auspices of the local Policing Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), to bring a determined focus to the resolving the issue.  Local party councillors Brian Mc Mahon and Jay Mc Cauley attended the meeting along with representatives from the PSNI, the PCSP, the Lough’s Agency, Strabane District Council (Officials) and Bridge Street Cross Community Association.

In a joint statement following the meeting the Sinn Fein councillors said,
“Residents of the Bridge End and Ballycolman Estate have, through incidents serious anti-social behaviour and vandalism, borne the brunt of the Melvin walkway ‘drinking den’ for far too long so we hope that from today’s multi-agency meeting a determined focus can now be brought to prevent the disabled ramp to the river being any longer misused to inflict suffering upon the local community.  Towards this end a number of actions points were agreed including agreement that a number of other relevant stakeholder bodies be brought on board to provide a holistic view of the issues and potential solutions involved.
“We have been highly critical that the PSNI has not been attentive enough to the problems arising from the ‘ramp’ and a similar drinking den at the pumping station steps at the bottom of Waterside Street.  However, since the end of June when residents of Melvin Court and adjoining properties were subject to a night of terror there has been a marked improvement in the situation as the PSNI have now heightened patrolling of both hotspot areas and gave a commitment today that this would continue.

“The repeated vandalism to lighting along the Melvin walkway has cost Council and, in turn, local ratepayers a small fortune so Council are now planning to replace the light columns which have been severed at the base with heavy duty ones which, while more expensive, should prove more cost effective in the longer run.”