Other News In Brief

SF: Protect Life 2 Strategy Should Be Published

A Sinn Fein MLA has called for the publication of the Protect Life 2 suicide strategy.

The plan to reduce the local suicide rate and the disparity between rates in different areas has been shelved since a public consultation in 2016.

West Belfast representative Órlaithí Flynn said the strategy is "long overdue" and should be released by the Department of Health.

She commented: "Suicide has a devastating impact on individuals and communities and the tragic loss of life to suicide in Belfast recently is a stark reminder of that.

"I would like to commend the Belfast Alliance on Suicide Prevention and all the community and voluntary groups who work tirelessly to protect and save lives in their local communities.

"We are requesting that the Department provide a detailed timescale for implementation of this important strategy including the time allocated to involving these groups in the design of services."

SDLP: Work Needed To Unlock Belfast's Potential

The SDLP has said that proposals to substantially increase the number of people living in Belfast City Centre will require significant changes to the way we think about planning.

Local development plans for the city are aimed at driving better investment into the city and making it a more appealing place to live, with the hope of boosting city centre resident numbers from around 3,000 to over 66,000 by 2035.

South Belfast MLA Claire Hanna said: "It's welcome that we're starting to think at the scale necessary to build Belfast's reputation as a city of the future but we also need to change the way we think about urban planning to unlock that potential."

Pedestrianisation of the city centre, more sustainable transport with new quiet ways and cycle corridors and a relaxing in licensing laws are among the issues that must be tackled for Belfast's potential to be reached, Ms Hanna explained.

"And the same goes for planning where stringent controls on change of use from business to residential have made it difficult to create living space that compliments the historic character of the city. The future of this city isn't all HMOs.

"We're still in the middle of a conversation about commemorating the last 100 years of our history. It's time to open a parallel discussion about our vision for the Belfast of the next 100 years."

Council Cracks Down On Dog Fouling In Public Parks

Patrols in council-owned green spaces in the Lisburn & Castlereagh area are being increased to police dog walkers and owners that fail to clean up after their dog.

The action is being taken amid an apparent "dog fouling blitz", according to the council, causing an unpleasant experience for runners and walkers alike.

An £80 fixed penalty fine will be issued to anyone caught failing to clean up after their pet. These can be issued on-the-spot or retrospectively following reports to council.

Members of the public can call 028 9250 9394 to report an incident that will be investigated immediately by the council’s Enforcement Officers.

Alderman James Baird, Chairman of the Environmental Services Committee, said: "We are responding to increasing requests made by those who use our parks and green spaces. Recently young children taking part in a Junior Park Run at Lough Moss encountered dog fouling across their route. This was unpleasant for the children and the parents who had to clean their trainers.

"Our parks and green spaces are for the enjoyment for everyone. This is very hard to achieve when some individuals fail to respect communal green spaces by not cleaning up after their dog. We will be operate a zero tolerance approach to this issue. Signage is already in place across our parks and green spaces making users very aware of the fines should they fail to 'scoop the poop'."



(JG/MH)