Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Terry Hoey Thanks Everyone For Their Hard Work In 2008

Hi everyone hope you all had a nice Christmas and looking forward to a great new year, we have been in existence now for more than a year and we have achieved a lot in that time. We have seen many changes, including the credit crunch hitting many home buyers and developers alike,also the area has changed where old housing stock has been demolished by the developers and left as land banks.

We have seen so many development sites left as fly tips without being fenced off, it just shows what high regard the developers hold for the people of Sydenham and what respect they hold for our children who are put in danger by these sites left in an unsafe condition,we call on those responsible to take a second look at how they have left their sites and think again regarding security. I cannot understand their thinking, it is an open invitation to anyone wanting to have a fall on someone elses land and put a huge claim in.

We have seen the residents association grow from strength to strength this year and we have achieved a lot, thanks to the hard work of our members. just look at what we have achieved since our first meeting in June 07 Tree Protection Orders  on all the trees on the Palmerston Road and the Hill at Dennorton Park. we have succeeded in spot listing the Gustav Wolff Cottages at Station Road, we are in contact with Wesley Housing Association regarding a sign to depict the Smiles Family on the Palmerston Road,we have also been in contact with the Belfast Historical Society in regard to having a Blue Plaque put on the former residence of Stewart Parker play write on the Larkfield Road.

We are seeing  our notice boards going up on many main road in and out of Sydenham we are also very pleased with  contacts that we have made with Northern Ireland Railways, our agreement reached by both of us to work together in making Sydenham Station become one of the prime halts on the Bangor line.We have to say a big thank you to  Mr Gerard McAtarsney of Station Management for the great work in placing two stands for our notice boards and also the safety fence that has been built for the benefit of the community. we are very pleased in the way Northern Ireland Railways wants to work with community associations and has listened to the association on the needs of the community in the Sydenham area and we look forward to working with him in the future.

We have seen many new groups start up in the Sydenham area and we welcome them all as part of our community, we have seen many changes in how we want change brought about. We have seen the formation of groups for and against the airport, and  groups for the protection of Victoria Park. Also the forming  of the Sydenham Community Partnership headed by Chris Deconnink ,we would like to thank Chris for every thing that he does for the Sydenham Community and for all the hard work that he does within our community. I have seen Chris working late into the night and is hands on in helping with all events a really big thanks to you Chris for this

We have seen our first event taking place with the Church of Ireland on the Larkfield Road we would like to thank the Minister for all the hard work by himself and the people of the church to make this event happen we say a big thank you to Francy McCrea Minister

in letting us hold the event in the church grounds and the church hall and for taking time with our visitors from Finglas in the South of Ireland. This was our first ever event and without his expertise we would have had a problem. We would also thank Chris Deconnink for his input in this event he worked very hard indeed to make sure that our visitors were treated well, we would also thank him for his experience in putting an event like this on and we hope to work with him again on another project for the Sydenham Youth in the coming summer months once more Big Thanks to Francy and Chris for all your work.

Neighbourhood Watch we are pleased to say that our neighbourhood watch scheme is also going from strength to strength we are bringing on new areas to help the community feel safer. We hope to have signs up on Station Road, Larkfield Road ,Victoria Road and Inverary Drive, this will cover all major routes in to the area,  we are hoping to bring on more in the new year. We would like to thank Sean McCormmick for all the time he has taken in making sure that things happen when they are supposed to. Many Thanks Sean

Policing in the Area we would like to thank the PSNI of Northern Ireland for all the hard work they do in our area and for the time they take in attending meetings some of which they get a very hard time at, we would like to thank the Police at Strandtown for the hard work they do for so little praise. many many thanks

New Links we have been making new links with other groups this year,  and we are pleased with the links we now have with the Inverary Community, we want to work closer with them in events and community projects and working with the Sydenham Youth to help them feel included in the decisions being made in the Community. We have also made better links with the Inverary Community Centre and we wish to thank all the staff for the hard work that they do in the centre, we also say special thanks to Sandra Workman who does a great job in the Sydenham Community and works hard for the whole community of Sydenham in times when she is unwell her self, many thanks Sandra For all you do and the hard work you put in.(a real community worker)

The Palmerston Residents Association is for the whole community and is open to people who would like to become members we like to think that we care what happens in our community, not just to stop developments or new apartments but to make change in the area we live in and to bring about real change to all the residents in the Sydenham Area. We have a big job to do and many things to put right we are here because we need to be we want our community to get all that is on offer to them, community grants being spent on the community and the area being regenerated.The residents association will fight for change in the area and will help anyone who can bring about change for the good of the Sydenham area,  we will work with our council to bring about change to our streets to make them safer for the whole community.We will work with Belfast City Airport to bring about change in the way they handle noise pollution and in the way they handle the environmental issues like Victoria Park, as chairman of the residents association I feel it is better to be on the inside talking than being on the outside shouting. Change only happens when someone wants to listen, I feel its time to engage with the airport and not just shout about it. I feel the airport is here to stay and is going nowhere and its time to work with them on issues that impact on us all.

 

I would like to thank everyone for all the hard work they have done for us in the past year and hope you all have a good new year and hope to see you all in the new year

 

Best Regards

Terry Hoey        

Palmerston Residents Association Would Like To Thank East Belfast Community Development Agency For Their Support in Our Disabled Learners Classes

We would like to thank Chris Deconnink for all the support he has given us during 08 in relation to supporting are grant for Disabled Learners Classes that we will now be able to set up in the new year Chris has always been very supportive in our projects but we feel that our classes will enable us to help our disabled community and allow them to access the Internet and to open up a whole new way of life for them.

The classes will be starting early next year we will have places for five people at the beginning but we are hoping to expand on this as time goes on we will also be holding classes for our senior citizens to enable them to access the Internet giving them more choice in how they live in regard to online shopping,emailing and Online Banking we will be keeping our classes small to enable our learners to have a better chance to interact with the instructors.

Classes will be held in community centres and church halls to enable citizens have a much easier access to them and any one wanting to join a class will have to apply to the residents association for booking information.Contact Terry Hoey C/o 86 Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Northern Ireland BT4 1QD

Palmerston Residents Association Would Like To Thank East Belfast Community Development Agency For Their Support in Our Disabled Learners Classes

We would like to thank Chris Deconnink for all the support he has given us during 08 in relation to supporting are grant for Disabled Learners Classes that we will now be able to set up in the new year Chris has always been very supportive in our projects but we feel that our classes will enable us to help our disabled community and allow them to access the Internet and to open up a whole new way of life for them.

The classes will be starting early next year we will have places for five people at the beginning but we are hoping to expand on this as time goes on we will also be holding classes for our senior citizens to enable them to access the Internet giving them more choice in how they live in regard to online shopping,emailing and Online Banking we will be keeping our classes small to enable our learners to have a better chance to interact with the instructors.

Classes will be held in community centres and church halls to enable citizens have a much easier access to them and any one wanting  to join a class will have to apply  to the residents association for booking information.

 

                                                                          To Book Please Write To

                                                                                    Terry Hoey

                                                                   Palmerston Residents Association

                                                                          C/o 86 Palmerston Road

                                                                                     Sydenham

                                                                                        Belfast

                                                                                 Northern Ireland

                                                                                       BT4 1QD

This Is Our Little Super Hero Cavan After A Three Hour Operation On His Nose To Clear An Infection

This is a picture of our brave little grandson who is fighting XLP,HLH,EBV, in Bristol Childrens Hospital in England. At the age of only five years old our little grandson fights these dreadful diseases  that are infecting his little body. when he would visit us on holiday he would say he was a super hero.
Cavan is like any other little boy of his age running around in a Spider man suit zapping everyone in site. We cannot understand why these diseases have picked on him, we have been told that XLP only effects one hundred families world wide. when we went to Bristol Hospital to see him we found it all very hard to take in.

Our grandson has lost an inconceivable amount of weight and the drugs he has to take to try to fight off the infections are incredible. We rely on medical research to tackle this disease to help young children fight it with better odds than they have at present. When we see our grandson and how he is now it just rips your heart out.
XLP is a genetic disease could it be tested for before birth and the gene fixed before birth, this must be possible we can do so much but we cannot solve this problem why?
when you see and live with the results of this disease and the uncertainty of it all, and the impact it will have on our grandsons life. We have to ask how this can happen in a world that is so far advanced and has made so many medical achievements, but this gene cannot be cracked.

As the grandparents of Cavan we have decided to set up a trust fund for him as we cannot be sure of the outcome of the XLP.  His doctors are giving him chemotherapy by lumber puncture to kill off lymphasites in his brain.  We do not know what effect this will have on his brain We ask the readers of ZIMBIO to Lobby their drug manufacturers to look at XLP and to help us get the word out regarding this disease please when you read this article make up your mind to  join with us in a search for a drug that will wipe this disease of the face of the earth .

Our grandson had glandular fever and seems to have been the trigger for it how many more parents in the world could be at risk of this disease and do not know they are passing it on to the boys in their families. as XLP only attacks boys and is passed on by the mother. Help us to help them make

XLP known throughout the world and press for research.
                                                                              

                                                                                     The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust
                                                                                       C/o 86 Palmerston Road
                                                                                                 Sydenham
                                                                                                    Belfast
                                                                                            Northern Ireland
                                                                                                   BT4 1QD
                                                     Do not Read This And Do Nothing Do Something To Help Our Fight

Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Terry Hoey Says Our Grandson Is Fighting XLP An Extremely Rare Disease Affecting Only Males He Is Also Fighting HLH And EBV

  As chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association I thought I was a Real Fighter for good causes  I did not for one moment think I would Be fighting for a cause that would be so close to both my wife and our family's heart our grandson has XLP,HLH,EBV,.During the past few weeks we have been in England to be close to him and his mum Debs and dad Jason and his sister Maeve they all live in Cornwall in a small town in Bodmin,our grand son had been ill for some weeks we thought he had Glandular Fever and started to get worse.

My wife and I travelled over to England to see him we had been in constant contact with our son on the journey down from Stranraer to Cornwall our son rang us and told us he was being moved to the Children's Hospital in Bristol as the Hospital in Cornwall felt that he may have HLH,in its self this is a life threatening illness but at that time we were not aware  just how sick our grandson was when we were on the Motorway we passed his Ambulance taking him to Bristol Hospital,we did not think over the next few weeks just what a roller coaster we had got on.

Our grandson has been fighting a battle his mum and dad was told at one time that the next 48hrs would be crucial to him as he had had a seizure we were then told that he had the EBV,Virus as well it took some days before the Hospital could confirm that he had XLP this disease is thought to affect less than 1 child in a million due to this doctors know little about the disease our little grandson is a real fighter he has to take so many drugs to enable his little body to fight off the disease who would have thought that something like glandular fever could trigger this off.

 

How Common Is XLP

This disease is extremely rare 100 families with XLP are known world wide the cause of the condition was only found in 1999 it is caused by a mutation or even a mistake in genes the treatment at the this time is anti- viral medicines and immunoglobulin therapy or steroids the child may receive a variety of treatments .Bone marrow transplant is the definitive treatment of choice 70% of individuals with XLP die by the age of ten years without any treatment. However, as we are learning more about the Disease they are identifying adults with milder forms of the condition

(Great Ormond Street Hospital)

 

I have supported many causes since setting up the Residents Association and I feel that more has to be done to research into this disease and that XLP should be highlighted and I intend to do just that,as Jason and Debs and Maeve live in England and we live in Northern Ireland our family members intend to set up a Trust Fund for Cavan to help with family support for them we have also received information that Bodmin Community also want to set up a fund to support them.  We hope to link with them to enable us to raise funds for  { The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust } we would also like to Mention the Support that has been given by C L I C  in Bristol as they have been a great support to Jason, Debs And Maeve at this time. Our whole family would like to thank the Bristol Children's Hospital for all the care they are giving our grandson at this time and would also like to thank all the nurses for showing such care to our grandson and to the doctors who are treating him at this time.

 

We would ask anyone reading this to help and support this cause either in funding or letters of support to

The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust C/o 86 Palmerston Road,Sydenham,Belfast,Northern Ireland, email terryhoey@ntlworld.com

Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Terry Hoey Responds To The Statement Made By Belfast Education and Library Board that appeared In the CT Bel

The Palmerston Residents Association have been in contact with the Education Board since 20th March2008 we were informed at the time the Board intended to close the Sydenham Youth Centre, as the Centre is situated on the Palmerston Road the Association felt it should have been consulted regarding the decision of the Board,the association have always taken a stand for the Community it represents. Our Constitution is founded on the basis of principals we will not go back on. We stand up for our Senior Citizens,our Disabled Community, our Youth,and our Ethnic Community.

The Palmerston Residents Association have always fought long and hard for the rights of the community, which is Sydenham in entirety, not as it is known by our officials as Sydenham One, Sydenham Two,and Sydenham Three, our community spreads to the whole of our community and that is Sydenham. We are proud of it and its history, we believe that our politicians and government founders should wake up to this, Sydenham is a community that has been ravaged by developers and by groups who act for our community who do not live here and do not see what their decisions do to our community.

We have ask the Education Board since the 20th March 2008 how it reached its EQIA under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and how it carried out the consultation process to ensure all communities in the area had been consulted, how the information was presented to them and in what formats. Was the consultation process in accordance with the Guiding Principles set out by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the main groups to section 75 categories Religious Belief,Political Opinion,Racial Group,Gender,Marital Status,Age,Persons with a Disability,Persons with Dependants, Sexual Orientation.

Our community should be consulted on how a public building that has cost tax payers money to build is to be disposed off. The Education Board has a duty to the community to fully consult with them before any action is taken to dispose or relocate a public building. We feel the Sydenham Community has not been properly consulted on this issue we have ask the Education Board many many times to hold an audit in the area, to enable them to find out what youth provision is required in the Sydenham area, and to look at groups from the disabled community, the Ethnic Community and people of different faiths. We felt that if groups where excluded it would sore up problems for our community in the long term.

The Residents Association would refer to the Education Boards letter of the 22nd July 2008 SM/CMcQ in its summary Paragraph 5, It is the view of the board that any adverse impact as a result of closure of the Sydenham Youth Facility was mitigated and therefore did not require an Equality Impact Assessment. We would also refer the board to its response to the Palmerston Residents Association under the heading 'Audits in the Area for Purpose of Closure' states I am unclear what you mean by audits in the area for the purpose of closure' I am unaware of any audits conducted in the area for the purpose of closure in these circumstances for this or any other BELB building. The original purpose of closure was to protect the health and safety of the staff and the users is a legal matter and is not an issue on which the BELB could or would consult local residents.

The Residents Association feel that if the building was closed on the grounds of health and safety to protect the staff and the users why then did it fail to disclose to the residents association what type of asbestos was in the youth centre and if it was that serious of a threat why were no hazard warning signs displayed around the outside of the building warning our community of the dangers that lay with in. We also requested in our letter to the Board 5th August 2008 to supply us with what measures have been taken to safe guard the public from entering the building and causing damage to the Asbestos.

The Residents Association has in its procession an audit that had been carried out in the area under the heading Sydenham Youth Audit Commissioned by East Belfast Area Youth Project and Strand Presbyterian Church. We refer to our letter of the 5th august 2008 under the heading 'Audits' we ask was the Boards Decision to relocate to Strand Presbyterian Church influenced by this audit. We refer to the Boards letter dated 10th October 2008 where it states the boards decision to relocate its services was explained in previous correspondence and was in no way influenced by the audit carried out by Converge.

The Residents Association feel that if any audit should have taken place it should have been screened under section 75, we feel the audit that took place for Strand Presbyterian Church should have been screened for the purpose of section 75 to make sure it had covered the main groups relevant to the section,the association feel the Education Board should have carried out an audit in the area to include all categories in section 75. The association are concerned the youth in the area who may not want to attend church will fall through the net,we feel this issue will not go away and it must be fixed before the youth in the area feel they have been sidelined.

The Residents Association meeting with the Education Board was in a response to their letter of the 10th Oct 2008 as it stated it wanted to meet with us once more. We ask the board to carry out an audit in the area to enable it to realise what youth provision was needed in the area, we also refer to their letter of the 10th Oct 2008 where it states the youth service in Belfast,in tandem with the other four education and library boards,will shortly be advertising a new registration process as the result of an equality impact assessment of the registration and grant aid schemes.This will be an opportunity for youth groups,including section 75 groups highlighted in your letter,to register with the board with the possibility of accessing future funding. The association is pleased by this statement but it fails to put right the wrong.In not consulting the community before it relocated its youth club to Strand Presbyterian Church when it could have relocated it to mobile classrooms in the area until proper assessments under the risk of asbestos be carried out by an independent assessment by the Health and Safety Executive

The Residents Association said before the meeting that it would not discuss with the board issues we have with the board in the management of the Asbestos, and why they deemed this building surplus to requirements due to the health and safety issues when other youth clubs have been upgraded. Health and safety issues in another building cost the board for security because it was damaged by fire and was deemed to be demolished, but then reprieved for further assessment. We can assure the board that we do not intend to let the issue drop until youth provision in the Sydenham area is audited under section 75 to include all groups who live in our community. We would also ask if the board carried out an audit in the area that covers all these groups would you please produce it to enable the residents association to close this issue.

Palmerston Residents Association Ask Is The Belfast Education (Youth ) Is Fit For Purpose In 2008 Do We Need Old Style Thinking On Youth Provision Or

The Palmerston Residents Association has been campaigning for some time trying to reverse the decision of the Belfast Education Board to close the Sydenham Youth Centre we have felt that Education Board had made a wrong decision we lobbied them to hold a audit in the area to take into account the views of our young people and our disabled and ethnic groups we have ask to have this carried out by an independent source we have requested this form our first contact with the Education Board and also at our meeting 17th October 2008

We felt at that meeting we could have come to some form of understanding with the Education Board on how it sees the youth provision in the Sydenham Area we felt that this would be the way forward,to our dismay it was not what the Education Board was there for it just did not want to try and reach any understanding at all,and railroaded over our concerns regarding youth provision in the area to our dismay.

The Residents Association is a fully constituted association and represents our community, we know the need for this centre and we feel it is vital link for our youth,we see it as a place of learning and involvement we know the youth in the area need this facility. We are aware the majority of youth want to have a neutral area to enable them to take ownership of it. We believe now more than ever the Education Board needs to look at their youth department and who heads it up and ask its self is it fit for purpose in 2008.

The association looks to other parts of the UK and see how they understand the needs of youth, millions of pounds are spent on youth by Play England and Play London we must draw into question why our young people are not worth the same. If we are trying to build a peaceful and exclusive society we have to look to our younger generation. Millions of pounds are spent on buildings making land marks yet we can not do the same to provide our young people places to meet or play. We ask the Education Board to read the insert on youth clubs published in the London Play News Oct 08.

Youth clubs help to cut antisocial behaviour, according to recent research from Clubs for Young People
(CYP): the umbrella group of 3,000 UK youth clubs. The study reveals there is a relationship between the
number of Asbos issued and availability of youth clubs: more Asbos are issued in places where fewer
youth clubs exist. It also finds there are more children per youth club in deprived areas. Clubs for Young
People is involved in the Blueprint project which aims to set out a plan for fun and effective youth centres.
Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of Clubs for Young People, said: "Young people rightly deserve high
quality facilities in their communities which is why it's important that we lead a discussion on what turns a
community facility into a world class provision where young people can have fun, learn and grow as
individuals. (London Play News)

children regarded freedom, physical activity and areas to socialise with friends as the most important
elements of good play provision. However, barriers to play included traffic, bullying, stranger danger,
racism and negative adult attitudes such as areas with ‘No Ball Games’ signs. The single most common
barrier to play was physical distance from play areas which was a particular problem for disabled children(London Play News)

The Palmerston Residents Association ask the Education Minister to look at its (youth)Department and question themselves are they fit for purpose. Are they looking after the needs of our younger generation or pushing the youth where they do not want to go.

Palmerston Residents Association Meet With The Assistant Senior Education Officer (YOUTH)Of The Belfast Education Board Regarding Youth Provision In T

The Palmerston Residents Association with Its Chairman, Vice Chairman, Youth Worker, Drink and Drugs awareness worker and the representative of the East Belfast Community Development Agency, met with the Assistant Senior Education Officer (Youth)on Friday 17 Oct 2008 the meeting was to establish the views of the Education Board in regard to Youth Provision in Sydenham East Belfast.

We wanted to raise with him the Associations concerns that an audit in the area would need to be carried out to establish the needs of the youth in the area. We also raised concerns regarding suicide in the area and the lack of facilities that are now in the area for youth who slip through the net of the local churches known as detached Youth.

The Association has felt for some time now that the need to try and give the youth in the area a sense of belonging in the community was needed, to help them restore confidence in the area and to try and bring about change of attitudes in the local youth. We have felt for some time that the youth provision in the area was none existent or that it is so much out dated that the local youth cannot identify with it.

The association believes that an audit should have been carried out in the area to establish the needs of the youth in the area, and also establish the feelings of the youth regarding the use of local church as a venue for a youth club, the disabled and mental health community would also have to be taken into account where programs would have to be improved to meet their needs.

We have felt for some time that if we want to have full inclusion of all the youth in the area it would have to be carried out under section 75, equality screening to enable the Education Board to reach the different nationalities that are now living in the area, also the disabled community and people suffering from mental health issue. We feel this would be the only way the Education Board could identify the needs of the area.

The Association attended this meeting to raise its concerns with the Education Board and attempt work with the Education Board to bring about change in the Sydenham area. We as an association felt that the Education Board would have been interested in our local youth and the problems they have, we assumed they would have been interested in finding out any problems they were having and work with the association on how they could be solved.

The association felt the Education Board would have been interested resolving the issue of an audit in the area and become aware of the needs of our community, some of which are disabilities, suicide and mental health. I as Chairman of the Residents Association have attended countless meetings with MLA's and other official bodies, and I have never experienced such a lack of interest as I found in the Education Board. In fact we had to remind the Youth officer that it was our children and other peoples children that we were talking about.

If this education officer represents the official thinking of the Education Board and represents the face of the Education Board then we are in serious trouble and the youth are in even bigger trouble. We now ask the Education Board to review the training of their officers in how to conduct themselves at a meeting of concerned residents. We would also question the training of the officer in attendance at the residents meeting he failed in many ways to grasp what the meeting was about or how to resolve issues that were raised,we would strongly advise the Education Board to issue this officer the basic tree structure of the board to give him some idea where the different departments are managed and who directs them.

The association is sorry to say that because of how the officer conducted himself at this meeting and the lack of respect he held for our community and its views, we felt there was no other action we could take but to close the meeting with the officer, we are sorry we had to take this action but we felt there was no alternative.

Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Sends An Open Letter To The Education Minister For Northern Ireland And Her Chief Executive Requesting Answe

Dear Minister and Chief Executive

The Palmerston Residents Association has been in contact with you and your department for some months we have been asking for answers to questions that I feel are very important. We require answers to why Asbestos was used in the Building of the Youth Centre on the Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast.

We also requested copies of the minutes of meetings that had taken place over a two year period with other groups to enable us to have a grasp of the feelings of the participants involved in the meeting at that time.We have also stated from our first contact with the board that a proper audit be carried out in the whole area of Sydenham and Ashmount area, to involve every household to enable the Education Board to gauge what Youth provision was needed in the area and what type of youth provision was required.

The Education board has continually said they felt there was no need for an audit in the area I as chairman of the residents association totally disagree with the Board. I feel that as the Board held talks for two years on a major issue as moving or shutting down a facility such as the Youth Hall the first thing that should have taken place was to ask the community and seek a wide range of expression in the area.

We have said from our first contact that the need for an audit was vital purely because the facility is the only neutral building in the area apart from Inverary Community Centre that is booked out most time, the need for the Youth Club In the area is vital for the younger generation of all communities in the area and is vital to the growth of the Sydenham and the Ashmount areas, the board in its attitude to the audit is totally flawed as it seems to feel it has no need to find out what people who live in the area want. The board fails to recognise the changing population in Northern Ireland and the need to be fully inclusive of all communities and the needs of the disabled communities in the area.

I as chairman ask the Education Board to think again on this Youth Hall the need for it in our area is vital to enable the community youth have a place they can go to and claim as their own. The need for youth workers in the area is also vital to help our young community deal with the pressures it is under in our way of life today,never has young people in Northern Ireland needed such a facility as now. We see other parts of the UK spending millions of pounds on it youth through Play England and Play London the government has recognised the need for our young people to have places for play and recreation. If we want to tackle the problems that our younger generation have to face today.

I look at other parts of the UK that I have lived in and how the youth is provided for and it makes me feel disgusted

In other parts of the UK young people attend rock concerts, make records, skate board centres and adventure playgrounds. In other parts of the UK they have not had to tackle thirty six years of violence yet our young people are at the end of the line when it comes to youth provision, we see our young people committing suicide because of the baggage they carry around with them, reports show East Belfast is becoming one of the highest places for suicide. The DSD has deemed it an area at risk.

I also know our mental health services are stretched to bursting as it has been under funded for years, I have seen our younger community trying to deal with mental health problems like never before, they have so many problems to deal with yet they are the ones that are forgotten in Northern Ireland. We spend millions on public enquiries, but find it hard to fund mental health for our youth.

I ask you the Minister of Education and The Chief Executive to rethink your plans on the Sydenham Youth Club and give it back to the young people of the area, if the Board has sold it buy it back then hold an audit in the area and find out what the young people in the area really want, show us that the Education Board has vision and they are looking to the future and not having tunnel vision in the needs of our young community.

The Sydenham Youth Club has not been in use for over two years it is falling into disrepair, the Board say it is because the building has asbestos in it, then take your opportunity to answer our letter to you and clear up the points we have raised, all we ask from you are answers as to why our young peoples Youth Club lies closed, when other parts of the UK are spending millions for youth provision yet the Board decides that it would cost too much to refurbish it and bring it to a standard where disabled people could also use it. I feel this is a nonsense as the building is approximately twenty years old. How could this be right how can you put a price on the future of the youth in the area?

Terry Hoey

Chairman Palmerston Residents Association

Palmerston Residents Association Intends To Call A Public Meeting With Regard To The Sydenham Youth Club And The Education Board For Northern Ireland

The Palmerston Residents Association intends to call a public meeting after it consults with its executive committee this month the association has been in contact with the Education Minister for Northern Ireland and the Ministers Officials and Chief Executive at their Belfast Headquarters 40 Academy Street Belfast. The Chairman of the Residents Association is intending to call this meeting due to the lack of a response to its letter to the board of the 5th August when it raised concerns regarding Health and Safety issues at the Sydenham youth centre Palmerston Road. We would ask all interested parties who wish to attend this public meeting to please contact us by email at campaigns@palmerston-residents-association.org or by fax to 02890200988

Palmerston Residents Association Day Six In Who The Real Friend Of Victoria Park Belfast City Council?or George Best Airport?

The Palmerston Residents Association visited the Tommy Patton Memorial Park on the Holywood Road in East Belfast the park sits on the old playing fields of Ashfield School,the park is equipped with a play area for children. Not very far away there is another park on the Circular Road Belfast it also has a play area for the young children. We would like to take you back to our two photographs of the play area at Victoria Park, as you can see this park has inadequate facilities for children. Amazingly it sits in the highest density area for young children, the area covers the Sydenham District which ranges from back to back housing with little or no gardens front or back. Sydenham has major health problems both physical and mental illness exists, alongside anti social behaviour and the area is rated by the DSD as an area of risk. The Palmerston Residents Association has seen Victoria park slowly wound down we have heard other groups say they want to save Victoria Park, some groups blame the deterioration of the park on aircraft passing overhead, we ask these groups to look at our photographs and judge for them selves. We have seen our park exploited by some groups to advance their own agenda, the difference with the Palmerston Residents Association is we have no agenda only to improve the area for our community and get facilities to the area that will take children of the streets and away from antisocial behaviour and crime. The association see our area deteriorate with less and less green spaces for our children to play. we see more and more signs going up saying No Ball Games, No Skate Boarding,No Admittance Residents Only and no cycling .Children have a right to play under the UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD article 31 of the convention sets out the child's right to engage in play and recreational activities http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm. We want our younger generation to have inclusive play and equal access in leisure opportunities including disabled children. we can see by our photographs how unequal the play facilities are in Victoria Park yet it is in an area of risk, we also see from our photographs the over flying planes could not have caused this deterioration of Victoria Park it is man made. We need to put the spotlight on the people who are responsible for this and away from other issues the association feels that our park should and must be brought up to the same standard of other capital cities. We need both council investment and business to invest in Victoria Park we should campaign and petition the members of the parks committee for improvements to the park and write to, email or telephone whatever it takes to demand the MLA's act regarding Victoria Park Play Facilities for children. The association feels that the park is large enough for the council to act now, if they are concerned about the widening of the Sydenham By Pass that is no excuse just relocate it to a better position in the park where children will not have to inhale fumes from passing cars and lorries on the Sydenham By Pass. Use the site the play area is on for tree planting. We urge you to read our final issue on Victoria Park day seven why not take a look at our new blog site for our youth in the community visit http://palmerston-play.spaces.live.com/

Palmerston Residents Association Day Five In Who Is The Real Friend Of Victoria Park And The Community? Is It Belfast City Council Or George Best Belf

The photographs show the model boating lake that was once a play area for young and old alike you would go to the park at anytime and parents with their children using this lake to sail model yachts, motor boats and radio control boats. This was a place were the community met, model boat clubs came from Bangor and East Belfast to compete against each other. This pond was always a place where you could go and catch up with the latest models that other enthusiasts had built. Some were driven by steam and some by remote control the park was the hub of the community. You can see by the tree planning program that the Council has taken up that it now removes one of the parks vital assets for community building,the park works like an employer for the community it relies on the the community bring to it or it fails just like any other business. The community needs to bring their model boats to the park and use the lake to encourage other enthusiasts to do the same. In turn fathers and sons get together and bond. The children then have something to look forward to. We see in other cities that they now recognise how important play is for young people it helps with mental illness it gives them community bonding, and a reason to go out of the house and play inspiring confidence in our younger generation.

Victoria Park has always been the hub of East Belfast It is even recorded in the Hansard report 17th April 1946 when Mr Beattie

ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether will immediately derequisition Victoria Public Park,situated in East Belfast, so as to restore to the working class people of the district their rights to make use of these grounds owing to this being the only recreation ground inside a built up area.

The Palmerston Residents Association now repeats the words of Mr Beattie and ask when is the Children of East Belfast going to be able to enjoy the park once more as children as they need to play also

Day Four In Who Is The Real Friend Of Victoria Park and The Community Who Use It? Is It Belfast City Council Or George Best Belfast City Airport?

The Palmerston Residents Association has fought long and hard to protect our environment we have saved many trees from destruction. We are looking at three photographs of the path up to the swimming baths that one time stood in all its glory, back then Victoria Park was the only park to have an outside swimming baths in Belfast. Many visitors came from all over Northern Ireland just to try the pool out, our first photograph shows the pathway looking down from the pool as you can see it is now covered with trees and undergrowth, although the view was not always like this there was a lawn and flower beds with a grass bank. It was kept that way because of the airfield and it also gave the park its own sun trap where people young and old would sunbathe. The park in those days was a community park for all the family and young mothers, you would have seen lots of children playing on the grass while their mums where having a picnic on the bank after visiting the swimming pool. Our second photograph shows the other side of the bank where you would have seen young people playing football and cricket this all added to the community feeling the park contributed to the area. The opposing teams at football and cricket made up from different areas of Sydenham all added to the atmosphere of a community. Our third photograph shows the remains of the outdoor swimming pool wall where so many families came for a day out of swimming and picnics. As our photographs show the planting of trees along the pathway and the other side of the bank has removed the community feel to this great park. We feel the council had no plan at all on how to build or upgrade a community park, in the planting of trees it failed to see how it would break up the community feeling the park once had.We see by the planting they would have achieved so much more by including many more species of trees more sympathetic planting would not have caused the problems the council now has, where trees have to be lopped all the time to stop them from interfering with the flight path of the airport. We look at the park and see just how many family and community projects that could take place in the park ,you would have thought we would have had a much more improved park with areas for fun where children could come and play and meet other children. What about an adventure playground and a skateboard facility,the council seems to have lost its way in Victoria Park and missed a great opportunity to help the young people of the area. The council has failed to involve the community in its planning of the park and include the needs of everyone young and old. They need to think about where the park is situated in East Belfast and why the park was built in the first place you would think that Harland And Wolff and Short Brothers and Harland would have given them a clue. The park was built for East Belfast to give its workers and their family's of the great industries some where they could go and relax and enjoy themselves. The council seems to have missed that vital point,Sydenham is classed as an area at risk it has jumped to this position and is now as bad as it was in North and West Belfast. The Sydenham Area suffers from Anti Social Behaviour, Ill Health,Mental Illness,and Suicide in our young population. The deterioration of Victoria Park has taken a vital link away from our community the council must see that if they close down areas in the park it drives the young people into the streets and then into antisocial behaviour.

We ask you to read our next issue DAY 4

The Residents Association Has Been fighting for sometime to save the Sydenham Youth Hall we ask you to follow our story on the issues we have uncovered

Day Three In Who Is The Real Friend Of Victoria Park and The Community Who Use It? Is It Belfast City Council Or George Best Belfast City Airport?

Our photographs show the Band Stand, the Children's Play Park and what remains of the Boat House, we must ask why these facilities have been let run down at a time when anti social behaviour is ripe on our street. We hear quite often that our park was used as a drinking den and our young people destroyed it. Victoria Park has been there for many years and in its later life it had more facilities than it has today we see that our park is not very family orientated it has no toilets the Band Stand is always closed and I cannot remember when a band ever played there. Our second photograph shows a children's play area but as you can see from our photograph it is not very inspiring or even adventurous enough to keep our children amused for any length of time, we see in our third photograph the remains of what was the boat house that was demolished only a few years ago. We must ask the council why this is happening and why its removing facilities from this great park or has it got another agenda? The Residents Association has been active trying to convince our MLA's and our councillors just how great an asset this park is to East Belfast, but our words seem to be falling on deaf ears. We see rate payers money being used to build facilities in the park only to be demolished or to have so many restrictions put on them that it becomes not viable for community groups to use. Yet our councillors do not seem to realise that if the communities are to tackle anti social behaviour we need parks like Victoria Park for our young people to use. So we must ask again Who Is The Real Friend Of Victoria Park and the Community Who Use It?

Day Two In Who Is The Real Friend Of Victoria Park and The Community Who Use It Is It Belfast City Council Or George Best Belfast City Airport

These are the latest photographs taken by Palmerston Residents Association of Victoria Park and the state of decline it is in. We can see from the first two photographs how the island has washed away with out repair and how the trees on the island are being let fall into the lake because the banks are not being rebuilt.
We can also see in our photographs how the lake is allowed to be infested by rubbish and plastic bags which may result in a hazard to one of our children who may try and remove this bike that looks as though it was dumped sometime ago. Once more the Residents Association has had to come to the aid of this great park.
We ask our councillors how can we gain respect from our younger generation when they see how our council looks after one of our most valuable assets. We hear a lot about our young people and anti social behaviour yet the council lets this happen to one of their historical sites.
How can we expect our young people to have a sense of pride for the park when the council lets it fall into disrepair and locks everything. Every human being uses a toilet we ask who is the real friend of Victoria Park is it the Airport or the Council follow our articles every day this week and we will let you know

Ashfield Girls School Development Is the Access Road An Accident Just Waiting To Happen? Palmerston Residents Association Feel It Is And Ask The Devel

 This is the access driveway that leads up to the new development at Ashfield Girls High School. The access driveway is used by Ashfield Boys High School you can see by our photo that it is marked as a crossing, it has no traffic lights just small sign to warn drivers that it is a crossing. The Residents Association ask the developers and the Education Board to think again and ask them to install a temporary pelican crossing with flashing lights to warn van and lorry drivers that they are approaching a school crossing. The Residents Association feel this is a matter of urgency before any of the school pupils are knocked down and badly injured or worst of all a fatality. We would also ask them to impose speed restrictions on the driveway in both directions with hazard warning signs on the approach to the crossing that will encourage drivers to approach with caution.

'Please Act Now'   :We Ask Our MLAs To Act Now and Save This Accident Waiting To Happen:

Smiles Sons Named on Roll of Honour on Belmont Road In East Belfast S. Smiles Lt, and W.A.Smiles Capt, Palmerston Residents Association Say We Must Co

These are the names of only a few of the brave men who served voluntarily in the 1914 to 1915 war for King and Country. The Roll of Honour shows the names of the sons of one of our great industrialist William Holmes Smiles of Westbank House on the Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Northern Ireland. William Holmes Smiles And Gustav Wilhelm Wolff Founded one of the biggest companies in the World The Belfast Rope Works in East Belfast, yet these two men who give so much to Northern Ireland are not Commemorated anywhere in East Belfast. Gustav Wilhelm Wolff one of the the Founder members With Sir Edward Harland founded the Belfast Shipyard one of the Largest in the World yet these two men are not Commemorated anywhere in East Belfast the home of the Belfast Shipyard and the Belfast Rope Works. Would it not be fitting to have Gustav Wilhelm Wolff and William Holmes Smiles Commemorated at the sites where they both lived in East Belfast Gustav Wolff The Den Station Road, and William Smiles Palmerston Road. It is a very sad sight to see the sons of William Holmes Smiles on the roll of honour yet know one knows know their history. We must let them know just how great Northern Ireland was and how many great men actually lived here and who they were and what they did to improve so many lives for the people of Northern Ireland

The Chairman Terry Hoey

The Palmerston Residents Association Smiles And Wolff Campaign

Palmerston Residents Association Says Thank you Northern Ireland Railways

The Palmerston Residents Association say thank you to Northern Ireland Railways in agreeing to let the association erect one of their community notice boards at Sydenham Station Halt, and also to the association taking care of the station. The Residents Association have always been keen to look after Sydenham Station as we feel it is the shop window to Sydenham, we want to show our visitors that Sydenham is a pleasant place to live and a nice place to visit. We intend to plant flowers and in the summer months put up hanging baskets, we hope to make the station much more appealing to the members of the public that use the station to commute to work helping both Northern Ireland Railway and the Palmerston Residents Association get more commuters out of their cars and on to public transport. The residents association feels if the community look after their own station it will give them pride in having a show station on their doorsteps. The Residents Association want the commuters to stop and visit Sydenham as it has a lot of places to see, including The Den Station Road where Gustav Wilhelm Wolff once lived and the Smiles Family Home Westbank House that use to stand on the Palmerston Road. You can also see the tree lined hill that was known as Bunkers Hill named after the Battle of Bunkers Hill in the American Civil War, we also have the home of Stewart James Parker the play write, you can also visit St Marks Church and see where CS Lewis attended Church, we also have some great parks in the area including Victoria Park one of the oldest parks in Belfast all within walking distance of Sydenham Station. we have several Churches in the area that always have something going on. The Sydenham Methodist Church which stands at the corner of Station Road and Palmerston Road, the Salvation Army Headquarters stands just on the other side of the road from the Sydenham Methodist Church, if you walk a little bit further you will see the Church of Ireland on the Larkfield Road and St Marks Church on the Holywood Road. Alternately if you feel you would like to see what is going on in the community you can call at the Inverary Community Centre on Inverary Drive where there is something good taking place every day. Maybe you just want a quite walk so why not try the Tommy Patton Memorial Park. Sydenham is a great place to visit with lots to see, the Palmerston Residents Association take a pride in the history of the area and are proud to show it off. We hope to be including shortly to our attractions our community allotments, and if permission is given by the Belfast City Council its very first Farmers Market to be held in the grounds of the Church of Ireland on the Larkfield Road. Once again we thank all the people who are supporting us, and the backing we have been given on a few of our projects including the tree protection orders on the trees at Bunkers Hill on the Palmerston Road. The spot listing of the Gustav Wolff Cottages at The Den Station Road and the support we have raised for a commemoration for The Smiles Family on The Palmerston Road, also Northern Ireland Railways for agreeing to help our community even further by showing the community that it respects all that it is trying to achieve by letting us take care of our visitors and making Sydenham Station one of the prime stations on the Network

George Best Belfast City Airport Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Says Thank You To The Chief Executive Brian Ambrose

Terry Hoey Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association would like to thank George Best Belfast City Airport and the Chief Executive Brian Ambrose and his staff for their time and hospitality given to the members of the Palmerston Residents Association in organising a tour of the airport complex. We also want to say thank you to the Airport Fire Department for taking the to explain the job they do at George Best Belfast City Airport, the major incident plans that are in place and the reassurances they give our members, in the event of any major incident that may take place on any of the approaches to the airport. We would thank the radar room for their time to explain in great detail how they control the flights that approach George Best Belfast City Airport, the management structure that is in place to manage incoming Flights coming up the Belfast Lough approach, we were surprised to see aircraft on the screen that would be landing at Belfast International Airport. It was fascinating to watch and witness the skill the radar operator had,we also want to thank the control tower management in taking time to explain what their job entailed and describe in great detail how they manage the aircraft when landing at the complex. The Residents Association put questions to the management staff of all the departments on issues that were of concern to us, and we thank them for the time they took reassuring our members on how they dealt with their Jobs and responsibilities. We raised concerns regarding the bird population of Victoria Park and how they are managing it, also the larger planes landing and taking off from the airport. We raised concerns regarding signage at the airport and the provision of first aid facilities. we also raised concerns regarding disabled passengers and prayer room provision. The Residents Association met with with Mr Brian Ambrose who give the members of the Residents Association time to ask questions on any issues we had. we discussed aircraft noise, Victoria Park ,a Community fund and how the airport should remember the history that surrounds the site of George Best Belfast City Airport, and how the airport main entrance may be used to depict the history of Short Brothers and Harland by exhibiting the aircraft Short Brothers and Harland Built and took off from this airport, also the history connected with the RAF in the Second World War. The Residents Association extended an invitation to Mr Ambrose to attend one of our executive meetings and we are very pleased to say he agreed, I as chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association would once again like to thank Mr Ambrose and his staff for taking the time to meet with us. I can assure the other members of the Residents Association that he give us the time to put any questions to him and he answered them all, his staff escorted us around the complex and listened to all our concerns I would also say thank you to all his staff who escorted us around the complex. This was a very worthwhile visit Many thanks from the members who attended
Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association Terry Hoey
Members in attendance Tony Gregory, Sam Budde
East Belfast Community Development Agency Chris Deconnink
Sydenham Community Partnership Members Terry Hoey, Chris Deconnink.

Smiles Campaign Receives another Boost With Support From The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Mr Sammy Douglas MBE The Palmerston Residents Associa

The Palmerston Residents Association would like thank the Democratic Unionist Party and Mr Sammy Douglas MBE for their full support given to our Campaign to have a commemoration for William Holmes Smiles erected on the out side of the new building that now replaces their former home Westbank House on the Palmerston Road Sydenham. The Palmerston Residents Association has been actively involved in trying to persuade the new owners Wesley Housing Association Ltd to have a commemoration for the Smiles Family placed out side their new building, to mark what this great family did for East Belfast and the sacrifice their sons made in the second world war. The Residents Association feel this part of our history must be remembered in a fitting way, and feel Wesley Housing Association Ltd should give back to the people of East Belfast and Northern Ireland part of their true history taken away when the Smiles family home was demolished to make way for their new development. The Residents Association are pleased by the support from the Northern Ireland Assembly Parties in our Campaigns to have both Gustav Wilhelm Wolff and William Holmes Smiles Commemorated. Special thanks to Minster Sammy Wilson of the Democratic Unionist Party for the support he has given in spot listing The Den on the Station Road the home of Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, he has shown how important it is to protect our history for our Children and further generations.

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Palmerston Residents Association Commemoration Campaign Says Thank You To CLLr Naomi Long MLA Alliance Party Deputy Leader

The Palmerston Residents Association wish to thank Cllr Naomi Long MLA and Deputy Leader of the Alliance Party for Northern Ireland in Her outright support for our Campaign to have a commemoration for the Smiles Family placed outside the new development, which now replaces the home of the one of the founder members of the Belfast Rope Works one of the largest in the world. The Association has been in contact with the new owners of the site Wesley Housing Association Ltd Carrickfergus, in an effort to get them to change their minds on a Commemoration for this great family being placed some where inside the new building. The Association feels this would just not be a suitable Commemoration as it would exclude the public to view it. The Association has always stated that any sort of Commemoration should be placed outside to enable our residents and our children to see the important family's who lived in our area, and how they were part of Northern Irelands great industrial history as a world leader in Shipbuilders,Aircraft Innovation and Rope Making. The Association looks to its present day Industry to support our Campaign in remembering what achievements were made in Northern Ireland, and bringing them to the fore giving our children a sense of belonging to what was once a great Industrial nation and a part of history that we should encourage them to be proud of, many Thanks Cllr Naomi Long MLA from the Palmerston Residents AssociationChairman Terry Hoey

Palmerston Residents Association Commemoration Campaign Says Thank You To Sir Reg Empey Of The Ulster Unionst Party

The Palmerston Residents Association wish to thank Cllr Sir Reg Empey MLA and leader of the Ulster Unionst Party for Northern Ireland in his outright support for our Campaign to have a commemoration for the Smiles Family placed outside the new development, which now replaces the home of the one of the founder members of the Belfast Rope Works one of the largest in the world. The Association has been in contact with the new owners of the site Wesley Housing Association Ltd Carrickfergus, in an effort to get them to change ther minds on a Commemoration for this great family being placed some where inside the new building. The Association feels this would just not be a suitable Commemoration as it would exclude the public to veiw it. The Association has always stated that any sort of Commemoration should be placed outside to enable our residents and our children to see the important familys who lived in our area, and how they were part of Northern Irelands great industrial history as a world leader in Shipbuiding,Aircraft Innovation and Rope Making. The Association looks to its present day Industry to support our Campaign in remembering what acheviements were made in Northern Ireland, and bringing them to the fore giving our children a sense of belonging to what was once a great Industrial nation and a part of history that we should encourage them to be proud of, many Thanks Sir Reg from the Palmerston Residents AssociationChairman Terry Hoey

Edit Article - William Homes Smiles Commemoration Campaign - Zimbio

Edit Article - William Homes Smiles Commemoration Campaign - Zimbio

Palmerston Residents Association Commemoration Campaign For William Homes Smiles and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff Founders of the Belfast Rope Works

William Homes Smiles, who founded the Belfast Rope Works in the early 1870s,was the son of Dr Samual Smiles,the author of the Victorian classic,Self Help. William Smiles lived at Westbank House on the Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Co Antrim Northern Ireland. Mrs Lucy Smiles was half sister to Mrs Beeton the Victorian cookery expert. The Smiles family had eleven children. William Smiles and Gustav Wolff of Harland and Wolff Belfast founded the Belfast Rope Works in the second World War one third of the ropes required by the war office (a quarter of a million tons were made at the Belfast Rope Works, in addition it manufactured 50,000 camouflage and cargo nets. The Smiles family give a lot to Northern Ireland they also give their two sons who were both killed in action 2nd Lieutenant Samuel Smiles1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. killed in Action 16th August 1917, aged 36 years, and Captain William Alan Smiles 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, killed in Action 9th July 1916 aged 34 years Lt-Col.Sir Walter Dorling Smiles CIE DSO ( 8 November 1883-31 January 1953) was a member of Parliament for Blackburn from1931 to 1945 Smiles was re-elected in 1935 but stood for Down Northern Ireland in the 1945 Westminister election as a Unionist. The constituency was split in 1950 into North and South Down. Smiles won North Down that year and remained its MP until his death in 1953. He lost his life in the sinking of the Princess Victoria of Larne Lough in the Great Storm. The Palmerston Residents Association wants to have this great family commemorated at the site where Westbank House once stood at Palmerston Road Sydenham before it was demolished to make way for a new development. The Palmerston Residents Association have made contact with Wesley Housing Association Ltd who now own the new development seeking their agreement to have some type of commemoration at the new site to enable our children and our visitors to see where this great family once lived and to mark their place in Northern Ireland History. At present we are at odds with Wesley Housing Association where we would like the commemoration placed, they feel it would be better on the inside of the building but we feel it should take its place on the outside of the building in the grounds to enable every one to veiw it. We will keep you updated on our campaign to have this family properly commemorated for the people of Sydenham and Ireland Northern and assuring their place in our history

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff The Den Gets Spot Listed And Saved Temporarily from Demolition Palmerston Residents Association Says This Is Great News

The Palmerston Residents Association would like to thank the Environment & Heritage Service on behalf of the residents of Sydenham, the people of Northern Ireland and our Children for spot listing 2-4 Station Road The Den. We hope this listing will be made permanent. We would also like to thank Naomi Long of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland for her out right support at the beginning of our campaign to have this building listed. Our gratitude also to the Minister of Development Sammy Wilson for his comments that built heritage provides a tangible connection to our sheared past and we should protect its best features.

The residents association is in complete agreement with this statement, we hope he acts to have Westbank House And the Smiles Family commemorated at the site of his home on the Palmerston Road, William Smiles and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff founded the Belfast Ropeworks the Biggest Ropeworks in the world where over 30,000 people were employed. We cannot replace these great men but we can commemorate them, for the good of Northern Ireland and the good of East Belfast.

Our work is not over it has only begun our history belongs to us and our children to give them something to look up to and respect, let them see how great Northern Ireland industry was and how it leads the world in Shipbuilding,Ropemaking,Aircraft and Engineering, we are only a small nation of six counties but a world leader in so many fields. We need to protect our heritage now to enable us to leave it to our children.

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff The Northern Ireland Environment has 'Spot Listed' 2-4 Station Road Known as the Den says The Palmerston Residents Association

We can confirm the Northern Ireland Environment Agency Protects Threatened Historic Buildings By Spot Listing 2-4 station Road Known as The Den The Environment Agency of Northern Say These buildings are a good example of late Victorian estate lodges which have unusually high quality interiors.

The buildings have some historic interest because of their association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff one of the founders of the Belfast Shipyard Known as Harland and Wolff he was also a former MP for the area and also one of the founders of the Belfast Ropeworks with William Smiles of Westbank House on the Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Northern Ireland.

The Palmerston Residents Association can also confirm that they are trying to have the Smiles Home and Family Commemorated at the site Known as Westbank House Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Northern Ireland.

This is a good day for the Residents of Sydenham and Also for Northern Ireland

Belfast City Airport Was Opened By Neville Chamberlain On The 16th March 1938 And Has Been Part Of Sydenham East Belfast Northern Ireland Ever Since V

I have heard the debates that are on going regarding George Best Belfast City Airport thinking has there never been an airport there before, yes of course there was only it was known as Shorts the First true aviation company in the world,and was a a manufacturer of the flying boats during the 1920s and the 1930s {Wikipedia} in 1936 the air ministry builds a new aircraft factory in Belfast for Short & Harland 50% owned by Short Brothers. In 1943 the Government takes over management and merges,Short Brothers with Short and Harland to form Short Brothers and Harland Ltd. In 1947 all war time factories closed and operations concentrated in Belfast{Kens Aviation.com}. In 1948 the company offices followed and Shorts became a Belfast Company in its entirety.

I have lived in Sydenham since I was a boy of 5 year old I can always remember the airport there, only in those days it was a lot different than it is today I remember that you could get to the aircraft yard on the other side of Sydenham Station, there was always a police presence at the entrance I can remember that the police man who was on the gate at that time lived in Palmerston Park Sydenham. I always went to Victoria Park to climb the bank to watch the planes land and take off, in those days it was Fighter Jets the roar from the engines was out of this world, I can remember as a boy lying in bed trying to get to sleep when they used to test the engines.

Sydenham in those days was a lot different than it is now there was more noise you had Harland and Wolff on one side hammering in the rivets, and Short and Harland on the other side testing their engines I can remember when Shorts built the MV Belfast it was the biggest aircraft I had ever seen land at Sydenham airport, every one used to talk about it when it took off and landed they always felt it was going to land on their houses. I think the best plane I ever saw was the vertical take off it was something else,When it started up you knew all about it the roar from its engines was ear-splitting but that was all part of living in Sydenham.

When aviation is part and parcel of Sydenham history how can you change it, when you think of Short Brothers as part of our history would you want to change it, when you look at what the Short brothers had achieved before coming to Northern Ireland they were world renown in 1897 brothers Eustace(1875-1932)and Oswald (1883-1970) began their collective aviation career as self-learned pilots of the coal-gas balloon.

Then in 1908 brother Horace (1872-1917)joined Eustace and Oswald in the family business and the three officially adopted the company name of Short Brothers. Following these developments the newly formed company began production in the town of Leysdon on the Isle of Sheppey where the Short Brothers became the first aircraft builders in the world.[The Pioneers:An Anthology][Http://WWW.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/short.html ] they adopted Belfast as their own with Sir Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff how could we not want to be part of this great Shipbuilding and Aviation History.

We look at the George Best Belfast City Airport today ok its changed its name but it has been there since 1938, it has served Belfast for many years as Shorts employed thousands of our citizens giving jobs to many families in the Sydenham area. It supported our country in the 2nd World War and still today provides jobs to the citizens of Belfast. Once more we should look to our history in industry and be proud that we have been part of it, be proud to know we had the biggest shipyard in the world thanks to Sir Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff and one of the biggest air plane manufacturing in the world Short Brothers and Harland.

Thanks to Oswald Short, Horace Short, Eustace Short, Sir Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff, not forgetting the Belfast Ropeworks the largest in the world thanks to William Smiles and Gustav Wolff who should be commemorated. We will not see their like ever again. Our province is only six counties we have achieved a lot and are known world wide for our great industries. In 1989 Bombardier took over Shorts and are still employing our citizens in the aviation industry. Bombardier, George Best Belfast Airport only the Names have changed its our history since 1938

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff Home Still Under Threat Is The Northern Ireland Environment & Heritage Service Dragging Its Feet On This Issue Ask The Palmerston

We are sorry to report to our residents that we have no contact from the Northern Ireland Environment & Heritage Service, with regard to having the home where Gustav Wilhelm Wolff once lived listed as part of our Historic Buildings on behalf of the residents of East Belfast. The Northern Ireland Environment & Heritage Service contacted the residents association on the 28th March 2008 and since then we have had no contact with them, in that correspondence they stated that they hoped to be in a position to provide us with a substantive response to our correspondence in the next few weeks to date the residents association has not received any such response.
We feel this issue should have been dealt with long ago as this home is part of the history of Northern Ireland and our great shipbuilding history. Gustav Wilhelm Wolff one of the founders of Harland & Wolff also co founder of the Belfast Rope Works, was a resident of The Den Station Road Belfast Northern Ireland. He achieved great work for the people of East Belfast, he supported the Ulster Hospital for Sick Children he was also involved in the establishment of ballymacarret, although Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was born in Hamburg on the 10th October 1843 he was a true son of East Belfast
The Residents of East Belfast have nothing to commemorate this great man as he is buried at the Brompton Cemetery. Gustav Wilhelm Wolff received the freedom of the city of Belfast on the 18th February 1911 he died at 2.00am on 17th April,one day and one year after the sinking of the Titanic (Clara May's Diary Notes) out of respect to his memory, the flag at the City Hall was flown at half mast and a special meeting of the Belfast Corporation Committee a Resolution was passed expressing deep sympathy with the relatives and admiration for Mr Wolff's independence and nobility of character
The Residents Association feels that Sydenham was the home of Gustav Wilhelm Wolff and East Belfast Is the home of Harland & Wolff a ship from the H&W yard was a Belfast Boat,as affectionately referred to by the workforce. Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was referred to by the Belfast Corporation Committee as Nobility of Character. Dedication by Gustav Wolff and Sir Edward Harland and the great workforce went into each and every ship built in the yard this is Northern Irelands History and we should be proud of it WE ASK THE NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE SERVICE TO PROTECT OUR HISTORY AND OUR CHILDRENS HISTORY PROTECT THE DEN ON STATION ROAD AS PART OF THEIR HISTORY AND FOR THE MEN WHO LOST LIVES AND FOR THE MEN WHO WORKED IN THE BIGGEST SHIPYARD IN THE WORLD HARLAND AND WOLFF ALSO FOR THE PROUD PEOPLE OF SYDENHAM DISTRICT

The Palmerston Residents Association Fears For The Trees At Victoria Park If Road Widening Takes Place On The A2 Sydenham Bypass

In widening the A2 Sydenham Bypass from a dual 2-lane carriageway to a 3 lane carriageway involves limited land take from Victoria Park we are concerned that trees that stand on this land will be lost, the Residents Association feels that if the trees are removed from the park it will change the whole concept of the park leaving it unprotected from any new In widening the A2 Sydenham Bypass from a dual 2-lane carriageway to a 3 lane carriageway involves limited land take from motorway lane that is built. Victoria Park was first suggested by the Harbour Commissioner in 1854 and the Park was opened to the public in 1906 due to its rich variety of wildlife, the open water in Victoria Park is part of the Belfast Lough and is an area of special scientific Interest. Today Victoria Park is home to a range of water birds such as swans, geese, ducks, herons, and migrant waders,the main features to the park is the lake and its two islands which are home to some of the wildlife that live in the park. The park is ideal for walking and covers approximate 1mile to walk round its river with the tree planting that has taken place over the years, it has many pleasant tree lined walks which also give shelter for many small birds.

Victoria Park also sits beside Harland and Wolff and the Shorts Aircraft Building where you can get some great photo shots of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson and Goliath. The park also has two bowling greens and pavilion one of which is under threat if the A2 widening takes place it also has Football Playing Fields, car parking,cycle/bmx tracks,flower beds,model boat lake, rose beds, tennis pitch, children's play area and band stand,we have watched this great park fall into decline over the past few years we have seen one of its great islands being washed away without being rebuilt and protected. We have seen our children's play area fall into decline and the lakes becoming overgrown by weeds and grass.

The residents association fears further for the park if the decline is not stopped we need to see the entrance to the park made safer, the underpass between Sydenham and Victoria Park cleaned up and made safe by installing new lights and the gates to the park moved to the entrance of the underpass and gates erected on the slipways from the Sydenham Bypass. The under pass also needs a footpath for pedestrians, wheelchair users and young mothers. The Residents Association has been fighting for a year now to have the toilet block opened up again after it was closed 9 years ago, the need for toilets in the park is great and the need for disabled toilets is of even greater importance. The Residents Association feels that the Belfast City Council are missing a great opportunity in the park by not leasing out space to a coffee kiosk and newspaper kiosk to raise funds for the park it could also be used to hold outdoor events as it has rail links, airport links, road links,and is also sitting by The Connswater Community Greenway Project.
In widening the A2 Sydenham Bypass from a dual 2-lane carriageway to a 3 lane carriageway involves limited land take from Victoria Park we are concerned that trees that stand on this land will be lost, the Residents Association feels that if the trees are removed from the park it will change the whole concept of the park leaving it unprotected from any new motorway lane that is built. Victoria Park was first suggested by the Harbour Commissioner in 1854 and the Park was opened to the public in 1906 due to its rich variety of wildlife, the open water in Victoria Park is part of the Belfast Lough and is an area of special scientific Interest. Today Victoria Park is home to a range of water birds such as swans, geese, ducks, herons, and migrant waders,the main features to the park is the lake and its two islands which are home to some of the wildlife that live in the park. The park is ideal for walking and covers approximate 1mile to walk round its river with the tree planting that has taken place over the years, it has many pleasant tree lined walks which also give shelter for many small birds.

Victoria Park also sits beside Harland and Wolff and the Shorts Aircraft Building where you can get some great photo shots of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson and Goliath. The park also has two bowling greens and pavilion one of which is under threat if the A2 widening takes place it also has Football Playing Fields, car parking,cycle/bmx tracks,flower beds,model boat lake, rose beds, tennis pitch, children's play area and band stand,we have watched this great park fall into decline over the past few years we have seen one of its great islands being washed away without being rebuilt and protected. We have seen our children's play area fall into decline and the lakes becoming overgrown by weeds and grass.

The residents association fears further for the park if the decline is not stopped we need to see the entrance to the park made safer, the underpass between Sydenham and Victoria Park cleaned up and made safe by installing new lights and the gates to the park moved to the entrance of the underpass and gates erected on the slipways from the Sydenham Bypass. The under pass also needs a footpath for pedestrians, wheelchair users and young mothers. The Residents Association has been fighting for a year now to have the toilet block opened up again after it was closed 9 years ago, the need for toilets in the park is great and the need for disabled toilets is of even greater importance. The Residents Association feels that the Belfast City Council are missing a great opportunity in the park by not leasing out space to a coffee kiosk and newspaper kiosk to raise funds for the park it could also be used to hold outdoor events as it has rail links, airport links, road links,and is also sitting by The Connswater Community Greenway Project.
The Residents Association has also ask Translink to look at the reinstatement of Victoria Halt on the Bangor Track as this would enable passengers from all over Northern Ireland to use Victoria Park and the Greenway Project. The Residents Association feels Victoria Park could be and should be as good as central park in New York it is an asset that Belfast needs to go along side the Titanic Quarter also creating jobs for East Belfast the Residents Association ask all our residents to lobby your councillors and MLA's to put more funding into regenerating this great asset and stop its decline as the only danger victoria park faces is Vision and Funding