Residents living in Ballinasloe estates have voiced concerns over the level of anti-social behavior in the town – and the prevalence of illegal dumping.
They participated in an extensive survey conducted by members of Galway Rural Development in the town during the summer months across six local estates in Ballinasloe.
GRD surveyed residents in low income estates in both Ballinasloe and Tuam and the findings have now been published.
The Ballinasloe survey was conducted in Curragh Park, Hymany Park, St Grellan’s Terrace, St Theresa’s, St Anne’s and Dunlo Court housing estates.
Martin Ward, Community Development Officer with Galway Rural Development, said the survey highlighted positives and negatives of life in Ballinasloe.
“While the positive aspects were consistent across different areas, the dislikes were rather more varied. Anti-social behaviour and waste disposal issues arose repeatedly in our survey investigation of Hymany Park and Curragh Park.
“People are dissatisfied with the dumping of rubbish and the failure to keep the area litter free. Other issues identified by the participants are the loud noise at weekends and a lack of engagement with the local authority,” Mr Ward said.
At the launch of the survey, it was said that more than 200 homes in Ballinasloe were visited and issues such as the presence of rats and illegal dumping came up again and again.
“Waste disposal emerged as the most disliked issue in the areas of St Grellan’s, St Anne’s, St Theresa’s and Dunlo Court. Other disliked the presence of rats in the area, anti-social behaviour and noise.
“They were dissatisfied with Galway County Council as the residents feel that no action is taken to deal with issues. Improvement to the parks and playgrounds was the highest priority with 33% respondents raising concerns for their maintenance in the St Grellans, St Anne’s, St Theresa’s and Dunlo Court areas,” stated the report.
The most important issues identified by the residents of Hymany Park and Curragh Park were waste management – they had issues with the amount of rubbish and the littering problem in the area.
They were not best pleased with the County Council and cited a lack of engagement with officials. Residents said the local authority should be involved in maintenance, resolving issues identified by residents – and tackling anti-social behavior.
“Other priority issues are jobs, parks and playgrounds maintenance, facilities for children, the need for community events, activities for young people, and safety concerns.
“Improvement to parks and playgrounds was the highest priority with 33% respondents raising concerns for their maintenance in the St Grellan’s, St Anne’s, St Theresa’s and Dunlo Court areas,” added Mr Ward.
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