Plans for a park in the university area of South Belfast to be gated shut at night have received a mixed reaction.
Gates will be installed at the four entrances to Crescent Park, located between Botanic Avenue and University Road, under plans considered by the city council.
The green space behind Crescent Church would then be added to the council's existing daily schedule for opening and closing gates for parks.
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Campaign group Friends of the Crescent, which has lobbied for the plans, said the gates would help tackle anti-social behaviour and complaints of drug and alcohol misuse.
It has offered to contribute £25,000 to the estimated cost of the gates with the council covering the remaining £30,412.
A council report said the group had received "unanimous support" from residents and businesses – but some have called for the park to remain open at night.
Two businessmen wrote to the council saying they were "alarmed" the plans were being considered without hearing other views.
David Gavaghan and Brendan Mulgrew said that after years of campaigning for new lighting, the park is now "beautifully lit and resplendent" in the evenings.
In a joint letter, they said: "We would strongly advocate that Crescent Park shows the way with what can be done to 'normalise' park life in Belfast and bring us into the 21st Century adopting what is normal practice in most European cities of a similar size and larger.
"We appreciate that there are issues with ASB (anti-social behaviour) but locking the parks is not going to make them go away.
"Indeed there is a lot to be said to see who these individuals are in the glare of the lights."
They said that "with a bit of imagination and investment, use of the park could be encouraged and enhanced".
"Instead we are facing the gating of the only decent 'open' park in Belfast that is beautifully lit," they added.
In a paper to councillors dated June 2021, Friends of the Crescent said the park regularly faces anti-social behaviour with people littering, taking drugs and drinking alcohol.
They added: "We understand that the gates alone are not a guarantee of a complete end to all anti-social behaviour, but the level and frequency of it at the moment is so severe that it is very clear that structural change is required before it can be reduced to a level manageable by police and community safety patrols."
The proposal was scheduled to be examined on Tuesday night by the council's People and Communities Committee, but was withdrawn from the agenda to allow for further consideration.
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