Park facing closure after more vandalism

Local Sinn Féin councillor Tierna Cunningham has appealed for the end to vandalism at a childrens park in the Whitewell area amid fears it could face permanent closure after yet another attack.
Finlay Park on the lower Whitewell Road has been targeted by vandals on a regular basis over the last number of years with the kids play equipment continuously destroyed. It was closed a month ago to allow essential repair work to take place and the ground was retarmaced at the weekend.

However this week the thugs pulled down the fencing, broke into the park and set a climbing frame alight causing £15,000 worth of damage.
Now Belfast City Council, who have spent thousands of pounds and hundreds of man hours repairing the ongoing damage to the park, said they cannot keep replacing the park equipment because they only have a "finite budget".

Tierna Cunningham expressed her support for the council staff who have regularly worked on the park only to have it destroyed again.
"I'm making a direct appeal to the people taking part in the vandalism to stop,"she said,
"I appeal to the parents as well to make sure they know where their children are. This time last year we were here because the park was completely destroyed and now we are here again. It is history repeating itself.
'I just want to thank the council's park staff who have gone above and beyond their duty to fix the place up again and again. But as they say, how can they justify spending the money when it happens time and time again."

She added it is only a small minority of people involved in the vandalism but they are taking much needed resource away fro the area's children.
The majority of young people around her are fantastic but it is small minority who destroy it for everyone," she said.
"This area is short of resources for kids as it is without the only park in the area being taken away. This behaviour has to stop so we can save the park."