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
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