Derry Council to spend £40k to remove £130k Waterloo Place parklet after two years

Derry and Strabane Council has agreed to remove the Waterloo Place outdoor seating area two years after the £132,000 parklet was installed.

A report was given to Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee on 14 February, citing anti-social behaviour as the main reason for its removal.

According to a report presented to Council in June 2023, it will cost around £40,000 to remove. While the installation was 100% funded by The Department for Communities, its removal will be funded by Council.

A Council representative explained that while the parklet was always intended to be temporary it had no set date for removal.

“When the parklet was installed it was understood to be temporary in nature as a post covid recovery initiative and how long it would be in place for would be determined by the outcome of regular engagement with stakeholders,” they said.

“Stakeholders included business and tourism representative bodies, traders and police. The feedback from stakeholders was that they would prefer for the furniture to be removed before the Spring / Summer period due to incidents of anti-social behaviour which occurred at the parklet over the last two years.

“Members have agreed that the furniture will be removed and reused and relocated elsewhere and that officers would continue to engage with relevant stakeholders in relation to animation of the space in future.”

The spokesperson confirmed that the parklet is set to be removed by the end of March 2024.

Speaking at the Environment and Regeneration committee, a Council officer explained the anti-social behaviour attracted by the parklet included alcohol consumption.

“The parklet experienced some incidents of anti-social behaviour during the Spring/Summer periods in 2022 and 2023. The anti-social behaviour was mainly associated with a small number of individuals entering the space, consuming alcohol and causing nuisance and annoyance to passers-by and local businesses,” he said.

The parklet was installed in Waterloo Place in 2022 and comprises of a combination of planters and seating/tables to create new outdoor spaces for use by the public.

At the meeting, Councillor Emma McGinley welcomed the idea to relocate some of the material.

“If the recommendation is coming from those groups, the likes of City Centre Initiative and everybody who has been working away in the background then I think that's what we need to do,” the Sinn Féin Councillor said.

“I think that moving the furniture and using it to upgrade existing furniture as well so it's not wasted is possible so we're content to propose we accept the recommendation.”

Cllr John Boyle said the move was 'very, very disappointing' after the ‘level of investment’ that went into the project.

“Let’s be frank about this, the few have spoiled it for the majority,” the SDLP councillor said.

“As Councillor McGinley said, we have to listen to the local businesses there. If they're saying antisocial behaviour as a result of the parklet being there is impacting on their businesses – we had a whole rates meeting here today – they are the ratepayers and we have to be reasonable and listen to them.

“I have used it myself but I can also see, on occasion, why I wouldn't go near it.”

Speaking in June last year when the parklet was initially being considered for removal, Cllr McGinley said removing the parklet would not solve the problem of anti-social behaviour.

“It's an option that's on the table but if we get rid of that seating area where do those people go? That's not actually tackling the root cause of the problem, it's just moving it somewhere else,” she said,

“It would be my view that we have to remember some of the people who are engaged in anti-social behaviour are vulnerable with complex needs including addiction.

“There's already been proactive action taken. Council Officers, along with the Police have carried out joint operations in the space to engage with the individuals and groups that are consuming alcohol. There have been seven individuals at the minute who have been reported for street drinking.”

The report presented to Council in last year asking to consider strategies to prevent the anti-social behaviour said some individuals involved had 'previously displayed similar behaviour' in areas such as the Guildhall Square and Upper Strand Road.

According to the report, one of the issues in preventing people drinking at the parklet was that police in the North do not have the power to seize alcohol being consumed in public areas unless the drinker is under 18.

PSNI had increased its visibility in the centre in an attempt to discourage drinking and the inter-agency group agreed to install signs informing people alcohol is banned in the area.