A cross community delegation, brought together under the auspices of the North Belfast Housing Community Network and jointly funded by the Housing Executive and Urban 11, recently took part in a study visit to North Lanarkshire to examine how the local Council administered anti-social behaviour legislation in the area. 11 Community delegates from North Belfast took part in the study visit representing areas such as Ardoyne, Ballysillan, Ligoniel, Tigers Bay and White City.
The Housing Executive recognises that anti-social behaviour has become an increasingly important issue for community groups since legislation was introduced to Northern Ireland in August 2004 and representatives had frequently highlighted the desire to acquire greater knowledge of what was involved. It was agreed that North Lanarkshire Council’s multi-award winning Anti-Social Task Force was the perfect venue for a fact finding mission.
On arrival delegates were given a coach tour of the North Lanarkshire area and were guests of honour at a reception in the Civic Centre in Motherwell, hosted by Provost Pat Connelly, who said:
“This visit is testament to the leading work North Lanarkshire Council has been undertaking to tackle anti-social behaviour throughout the area and it is my honour and pleasure to host a civic reception for our visiting guests. Sharing information and best practice is an important way of working for a number of different authorities, so this is a very worthwhile visit for everyone involved.”
Speaking on behalf of the North Belfast Housing Community Network, Sean McKenna and Ivan Kelly the Housing Executive’s local District Managers for North Belfast said:
“The purpose of this visit was to examine ways in which anti-social behaviour legislation is administered by authorities who have had several years experience in doing so. The model used by North Lanarkshire is an excellent example of partnership working between the statutory and community sectors. The group was highly impressed with the professionalism, dedication and commitment demonstrated by Council officials, the police and all the community representatives involved.”
Moyra Wylie, who was representing Mount Vernon Community Development Association, agreed that the study visit had proved invaluable and said:
“This study visit has provided a valuable insight into the Anti-Social Behaviour Order process. It’s shown us that it is not just about serving ASBOs – there’s a whole range of other things such as interviews, mediation, warnings, Acceptable Behaviour Agreements to be gone through before an ASBO is sought.”
Paul Wasson of the Ligoniel Improvement Association echoed those sentiments and said:
“The Study Visit was extremely interesting because of what lies ahead in terms of what we have to do and how we might achieve it. The ideas from the Task Force on how they tackled anti-social behaviour with the resources available shows that it can be achieved with commitment; although it’s not just about the officials, a lot also depends on the community and how actively they take part. This opportunity has helped me gain experience and knowledge that I can bring back to my local community group to help put things into practice.”
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