Palmerston Residents Association

Palmerston Residents Association ask for funding from the Community Safety Summer Splash 2009 programme to change this piece of land in to a Community Garden, and to involve our young people to help with the project. This was to continue all of the school summer holidays, it would have given some of our young people an activity through the summer holidays. This space is going to be a community garden and remembrance site, it is also to be used as an outside classroom for the local schools, Northern Ireland Railways will give talks about the dangers of playing on the railway lines. The Palmerston Residents Association ask for a grant of £1000.00, it would have been used as part of other sponsorships we are planning to involved in this project. It comes on the back of being turned down for funding also £1000.00 to stage an event for a Community watch Community Policing Event on the 22 August 09. The association felt the council would have funded these projects as they always say there are funds available, but as Terry Hoey chairman of the residents association has always maintained it is better to try and find funds from other sources. In the past four months we have been turned down for three grants to help with community projects within the area, Terry says he is only glad this has happened now and we have learnt our lessons on funding from the Council. We would have been in a worse state if it had been for our major event we are planning for next year. The Community Watch Emergency Services Event that will involve all the emergency services, we are hoping to involve services from both the UK and Ireland, the Palmerston Residents Association ask the council why there is not enough funds available to stage projects like ours, that will help within the community and give something back, and also teach our children to respect our community policing teams, as well as show them the dangers of alcohol abuse and drug abuse at a time when our young community are on leave from school. We say this is such a missed opportunity for them and for the council.     

PACT Public Meeting

The next PACT Public Meeting

will be held on

Tuesday 28th July at 7pm

Heyn Hall, St Marks Parish Church

· PACT meetings are about joint problem solving at a local level.

· PACT meetings give everyone the chance to see their Neighbourhood Police Officer in person, as well as other key stakeholders in the community on a routine basis.

· PACT is about collaborating with partners to address  localised community issues using all available options and solutions.

Peter S Quigley

Chairman - PACT

Police Partners and Community Together

Victoria Ward - East Belfast

( 07818062370

____________________________________

peter.s.quigley@ntlworld.com

Community Festival In Doubt - Palmerston Residents Association

The Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association Terry Hoey would like to thank Beverley Surgenor of the Wesley Housing Association for the meeting at the site of their new development and the tour of the site, Terry would like to say how well it fitted into the surroundings and how sympathetic the new development is with the new trees and the surrounding gardens that have been made to complement the new development. The private garden to the rear of the development is an added touch and works well with the overall development,Terry was also very impressed with the interior of the new development the high finish and standards that has been reached for the residents of the home. They have taken care to insure that it has been finished to a very high standard and we thank them for that.

The Palmerston Residents Association would also like to thank Wesley Housing Associations Beverley Surgenor for agreeing to let the residents association place a plaque depicting the Smiles Family the history of the family in the local community and connections to Gustav Wolff, and their links to the Belfast Rope Works. This will give the community of Sydenham much pride, the plaque will be placed outside the development with a small garden to enable the community and its visitors to know the Smiles Family once lived on the site that is now the new development, this is a great achievement showing just how local communities and private enterprise can work together in building better community relations. We hope to work with Wesley Housing Association on other projects within the area.

We look  forward to the official opening of their new development ,and we wish them every success for the future, they have done a great job in improving the area and making sure that the surroundings complemented the area.           

Terry Hoey Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association is pleased to say we have formed links with a new community group that has been set up in the lower Holywood Road in East Belfast.

We will work together on the proposed new Stadium planned for the Holywood Road in East Belfast, both groups have fears the site will destroy one of Northern Irelands prestigious routes along the Holywood Road and may wipe out a number of the green spaces.

The proposal is to replace the green spaces with 4000 car park spaces, the community groups involved feel this just cannot be allowed to happen, to destroy green spaces to accommodate a car park is unbelievable. We say to the the Belfast City Council to name any other City in Europe that would destroy a park,trees and wildlife habitat to replace with a car park.

The Planned Stadium will cause so many restrictions to the residents of the Lower Holywood Road, also two of our major schools in the area Ashfield Boys High School And Ashfield Girls High School, it begs the question has any thought gone into this plan, we already have a bottle neck at the Knocknagoney Roundabout on the Holywood Road and the Parkway entrances to the Belfast Side of the Sydenham By Pass at early morning  and throughout the day.

Our greatest fear would be on a match day, we have a lot of young mothers and senior citizens who travel along the Holywood Road to Tesco and the Holywood Exchange, what would the effect be on them if the Stadium was to hold a rock concert how would they get out to shops. We must remember that our planning services have not taken into account the need for local shops in the communities that will live around the proposed Stadium.

We also fear the volume of new vehicles that will travel along the Sydenham By Pass to the Stadium and new traffic that will also travel along to and from the Stadium along Parkway and the Holywood Road. This will make it almost impossible for local residents to carry on their normal daily lives .

Our community will lose out by the removal of our Children's Park, Football Pitches,and the local site that is used for lighting the seasonal bonfire, also clubs that  use the park for model airplane flying it has taken very hard work on behalf of community workers in the area to build a community for our young people, to see the possibility of them losing more resources in an area is beyond belief, the community has already been robbed of one asset to the area that being the Sydenham Youth Hall.

Our groups would like to see a full public inquiry into this proposed site, and to see impact studies on Traffic,Green Spaces,Wildlife and what effect it will have to local residents who live on the lower Holywood Road in their day to day existence. This is a major development planned for the area, we feel that our residents must have a say in this matter before the first sod is cut.

I am the Chairman of Palmerston Residents Association (the ‘Association’), an organisation which endeavours to represent the interests of and work for the good of the people living in the area in and around Sydenham in East Belfast. The Association is involved in many projects which it hopes will improve the Sydenham area and benefit it in the long-term. The Association is not a legal entity.

I first notified the Department of the Environment / Northern Ireland Environment Agency (the ‘Challenged Party’ or ‘CP’), of our interest in having properties at 2 & 4 Station Road, Sydenham, Belfast, BT4 1RE, (the ‘subject properties’), listed in and around October 2007; I mentioned in e-mail correspondence at this time my knowledge of the connection between the subject properties and Mr Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, co-founder of Harland & Wolff shipyards and former MP for the East Belfast constituency.

Around 3 months passed and I had heard nothing further from the CP and therefore was becoming anxious that any action was not being taken expeditiously as the properties were in my belief in risk of demolition. I sent a further e-mail in January 2008 to Mr Kirby at the CP, again enquiring of their position in relation to the subject properties and raising my concerns that the properties may be subjected to demolition and therefore requesting that ‘spot-listing’ be considered by them. In response to this e-mail of same date, Mr Kirby advised that the Senior Conservation Architect would be viewing the subject properties the following day. Copies of the e-mail correspondence referred to in this statement are attached hereto.

I also sent a letter to the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, dated 27^th January 2008, in which I canvassed for the support of the Senior Ministers in protecting the subject properties, not least because of the perceived risk of demolition. I made clear therein my belief that the properties were worthy of protection because of their historic links to Mr Gustav Wilhelm Wolff. A response to this letter from the Office of First and Deputy First Minister was received, dated 31^st January 2008, stating that the previously mentioned letter had been passed to the CP.

A substantial response from the CP in relation to my letter dated 27^th January 2008 was received, dated 20^th February 2008. The response noted the issues raised by me in respect of the subject properties, in particular it references my plea that the buildings be “saved from destruction” “because of their historical connection with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff and because holding onto this part of our history would sit very well with the Titanic Quarter’”. The letter explained that the matter would be considered in due course by Mr Manus Deery, Principal Architect, who would decide whether the properties were worthy of being ‘spot listed’.

The next item of correspondence which I received was a letter from Mr Manus Deery, dated 28^th March 2008, advising that the CP was in the process of inspecting and gathering information on the subject properties to determine if same would meet the legislative test for listing. I am aware the subject properties were indeed ‘spot listed’ in and around the 17^th July 2008.

After hearing that the subject properties had been demolished in and around January 2009, but in advance of hearing of the CP’s decision, I contacted my local MLA, Councillor Naomi Long regarding the matter. I am aware that Cllr Long wrote to Councillor Sammy Wilson MP MLA, Minister of the Environment. In Cllr Long’s letter to Cllr Wilson, Cllr Long posed a number of questions:

1. Cllr Long pointed out that it appeared “bizarre” that “at a time when the Northern Ireland Executive and Belfast City Council are investing in a new Titanic Signature project to promote the City’s links with that famous vessel...that authentic heritage directly linked to the shipyard is permitted to be demolished.”

2. Whether a formal decision not to list the subject properties was taken and if so, the rationale for this.

3. Conversely to 2, whether the BPNs were allowed to lapse, permitting the subject properties to be demolished.

A fellow-member of the Association then received a letter from the CP dated 12^th February 2009. This letter advised that a Building Preservation Notice (BPN) was issued by the CP on each of the subject properties on 17^th July 2008, affording both properties protection for a period of 6 months. (up to and including 16^th January 2009). The letter advised that the CP:

“considered all of the available evidence, consultations and representations and concluded that the buildings did not meet the test of Article 42 of the Planning Order 1991 [as amended] i.e. that they did not meet the test of “special architectural or historic interest” required for permanent protection as listed buildings.”

The CP then explained its decision in view of the fact that a BPN was initially served upon the owners of the subject properties:

“The substantive difference between the initial and final decision by the Department was the establishment that the buildings were not as unusual and rare as initially thought.....in our view an argument that they were of special architectural interest could not be sustained”.

I understand that this view was based on the fact that one of the subject properties had had its Victorian-style interior added in the late Twentieth century whilst the other property’s interior had been completely modernised. ‘External changes’ to the property were also mentioned and in the CP’s view this contributed to the decision reached by them.

The letter also addressed my arguments that the buildings should have been protected by reason of their historical association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff. The CP acknowledges that their own research confirmed the information which had been provided by me and the Association:

“The structures were indeed part of his now gone estate known as ‘the Den’. However....though of interest, this was not sufficient grounds upon which to protect the buildings. It did not make the buildings objects of special historical interest”.

To explain this decision, the CP made reference to Annex C of Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6) which states that:

“in the case of historical associations, there will generally need to be some additional quality or interest in the fabric of the building itself to justify listing. Either the building will have architectural merit in itself or it should be well preserved in a form which directly reveals its historical associations....[for example] because of the survival of

certain particular features.....”.

In addition, Cllr Wilson responded to Cllr Long’s letter above, and in response thereto made the following points:

1. A decision not to list the subject properties was taken in advance of the expiration of the BPNs.

2. As per the reasons outlined above in the correspondence from the CP to the Querist dated 12^th February 2009, the CP concluded that the subject properties were not of special architectural interest.

3. The Minister acknowledged the historic interest in the subject properties by reason of their association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, however he comments that the association though of interest was not of sufficient ‘weight’ to justify listing. The Minister refers as his Department did to PPS6, Annex C, which is as stated above. The Minister concludes that as the subject properties had been altered since Wolff’s time, historic associations were not directly revealed and therefore the subject properties were not eligible for listing.

Both myself and the Association and many of the local residents in our area are deeply aggrieved by the decision taken by the CP in respect of the subject properties. Having sought legal advice, I am not satisfied that their decision was correct. I wish to seek redress, by way of Judicial Review, to challenge their decision and have same publicly declared erroneous by a Court of law. Hopefully if we are successful this would ensure the future of other historic properties which will not suffer the same fate as a result of poor decision making by the public body in question.

News Release

Sydenham Community Station

We are very please to tell you that Palmerston Residents Association has been in talks with NIR, George Best Belfast City Airport, EBCDA, Parks and Leisure Department and Neighbourhood Watch.

What is going to happen?

New Flower Beds

Tree Planting

Community Garden

Fencing along front of station removed at disabled access

Flower Beds

Will take into account both rail platforms shrubs are to be planted, along with roses in all colours. This work will be carried out for you the community of Sydenham

Tree Planting

Will include the front of the station and along the Bangor side of the track with various tree specimens. This work will be carried out for you the community of Sydenham

Community Garden

This is a very special garden with raised planters made from railway sleepers and disabled access. The garden will be special because the planters will be used by the local schools in the area to grow plants and shrubs. Our senior citizens will also have a planter in the area which will also be used by NIR as an open class room to teach our children about the dangers of tracks and rail lines. There will also be a memorial garden set aside for local residents and community workers who in the past worked for the better of our community to bring about better living standards for all us. This work will be done for you the community of Sydenham.

Fencing

Fencing will be removed the length of the disabled entrance to give the station the appearance of a much softer look, adding character to the frontage

of the station. This work will be carried for you the community of sydenham.

Our Sponsors

The Sydenham Station has been sponsored by NIR, George Best Belfast City Airport, EBCDA, Parks and Leisure and Neighbourhood Watch,

The Palmerston Residents Association has been working with our sponsors to make this happen for our community, the association has felt for some time that our station did not reflect our community we felt the Sydenham Community has been left for to long with out improvements to the life of the local community. The Residents Association has seen great changes taking place within our community, people are working very hard to bring enjoyment to al of our community. We only have to look at the Titanic festival last year and the George Best Community Cup this year running with the Titanic Festival. These events are all being organised by the local youth in the area. Palmerston Residents Association are still in talks with NIR to have it rebranded and known as Sydenham Community Station, we are also in talks with them to bring special trains to our community station for away days for the local children in the area. We would also like to see NIR bring their special train for children with face painters for the younger children. Why do we want this to happen? The Palmerston Residents Association cares about the community and will work hard to bring about changes for our senior citizens, Young Mothers, the Youth, in fact everyone in the Sydenham area.

Sydenham Station Footbridge

We can confirm that NIR are not the owner of the bridge, we believe it to be the responsibility of the road service. We now want changes to the bridge and we are hoping to have talks with the road service, backed by NIR to have something done about the footbridge to enable all the community to have access to all of the services at Sydenham Station.

Palmerston Residents Association would like to thank all the sponsors involved in bringing about the changes that are now taking place we would also like to thank all the people in the background that work on behalf of our community and who have helped with this project

Katy Best, Michelle Hartfield, Gerard McAtarsney, Alan Mc Haffie, Chris Deconnick Sean McCormick, Sandra Workman, David McConnell, Robert McCreary, Naomi Long, Chris Lyttle and Jim Rodgers,

We would ask all our community both young and old to look after our Station, we are still in talks with NIR to bring youth and child based away days to our community. We hope this will take place soon we need your help do not let anyone damage or spray-paint in or around our station as this will affect everything we are trying to do with the station. PLEASE HELP TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY BETTER FOR ALL OF US.

Terry Hoey

Palmerston Residents Association

School launches award winning Take One Picture project

In November 2008, East Belfast’s Victoria Park Primary School won the prize for Contribution to Education at the 2008 Belfast Awards

This week, the newly amalgamated Victoria Park Primary School based in Strandburn Street in the East of the city, will embark on the second year of this programme.

The entire school will take part in a full week of creativity based on this year’s piece of art work. The painting for this year, selected by the National Gallery, is Renoir’s “Umbrellas” The painting will form the timetable for a programme of events and curricular activities  and the staff and pupils have planned a week long series of events and lessons concentrating on all aspects of the painting.

Two artists will work along with the children as well as a number of parent volunteers. P1-P7 will focus all areas of the curriculum on the main Umbrellas theme. Live workshops can be viewed at the school from Tuesday 5^th May and an exhibition of the week’s work will be on show on Friday 8^th May, 11.00-12.30 for P4-P7 and 1.00-2.00 for P1-P3.

For further details please contact the school. Tel. 02890 471274

Palmerston Residents Association Chairman Terry Hoey would like to thank Pat Devlin and Victor Price of the Ulster History Circle for working with the Palmerston Residents Association in assuring that Stewart Parker one of Northern Irelands Great Play writes will be remembered on the Larkfield Road in Sydenham. We have been involved for some time to have our children's heritage preserved in this way.

The Association has worked since it existence to have the Homes of Gustav Wilhelm Wolff and William Smiles saved from the developers to add to our children's living history in Sydenham but that was not to be. We feel that our children's history should never be destroyed because how will they know where they have come from.

The Palmerston Residents Association hope to work with Pat Devlin and Victor Price again on other projects we would also like to thank Mr +Mrs Bennett the present occupants of the house for allowing this take place, we would also thank the Heritage Lottery Fund and The Stewart Parker Trust  many thanks for saving our children's history 

Speed limits exist to protect all road users police resources alone have only a limited impact in enforcing them.We have found that community involvement enables far better coverage especially in terms of time available to devote to this important cause, for this reason surrey police provides training and equipment via the community Speed watch scheme to empower residents to help tackle the dangerous problem of speeding.

Volunteers to the scheme are provided with a speed gun,signs and essential user training. Once a suitable area is approved,Speed watch teams note the registration number and speed of the speeding vehicles in designated locations and report them to the police who, in turn write a warning letter to the registered keeper.

If a vehicle is caught a second time a final warning letter is hand delivered and a warning given in person. Any further offences may result in a fine or penalty points on a licence the scheme was recently established in Shamley Green and Ellen Green and it is hoped that Alford and Dunsfold will follow suit early in 2009 (source)(Safer Neighbourhoods Surrey Police)

The Palmerston Residents Association has been calling for a 20mph for some time to control speed on our main roads like Station Road, Palmerston Road,Inverary Drive, Larkfield Drive, Connsbrook Ave and Pimms Ave. Speed has been a great worry due to road conditions in the areas we see more cars parking in the area on footpaths that in turn causes problems to young mothers with prams, our senior citizens and disabled community.

The problem gets even more congested on Sundays when our churches are being used and other cars are then coming from other areas to park and attend their church. We see the the problem of speeding as a massive problem as more and more cars use the area,our children are put more and more at risk coming home from schools in the area.

We would look to the Surrey policing project and ask why this cannot be tried here as a test area and if it helps to cut down in speeding it could be rolled out in other areas using the Neighbourhood watch groups to carry out the speeding checks,the Palmerston Residents Association has looked at this problem for some time now we are well known for pointing it out to the planning office regarding traffic in the area, when they let developers build apartments in the area at that time we warned how bad the area was becoming due to excess traffic.

The Palmerston Residents Association want action on speed and parking in the area, we would also ask for double yellow lines at the Entrance of Victoria Road as it meets with Palmerston Road to save a fatal accident taking place at this junction.  

As you can see by the Belfast Telegraph photo impression on how it will look when you look at the plans they might show a different story our concerns would be parking in the area of the stadium, it will have car spaces for 4000 cars this is a vast amount of cars going to a main route and junction. We would ask where the entrances and the exits will be placed at such a busy junction as the Tillysburn round about. Looking at the photo the only entrances would have to be on the Holywood Road, this will bring 4000 extra cars onto a single lane in both directions on to Holywood Road.

We would be interested to know has a traffic survey taken place for the Holywood Road and the Sydenham By Pass, if so what were the results of this. We would also be interested to see what the outcome was with regard to the two major schools also sited on the Holywood Road, what health and safety issues would have to be introduced for the extra volume of traffic when games take place.

The Stadium is state of the art and a centre of Excellence with a national training centre our concerns would be that the Youth in the Sydenham and surrounding areas may forfeit football pitches that they all ready have in the Inverary Playing Fields. Our concerns would be the Youth in the area be able to play football at the new pitches now being planned and if not where would the Youth go.

Stadium grounds show a road leading down the side of the pitches to a bowling green and travelling across the Sydenham by Pass, is this an entrance to the site from the Sydenham By Pass and we would also be interested to see the traffic surveys  for this link with cars travelling to George Best City Airport. We would have concerns regarding tailbacks leading up to the intersection from the airport.

The new railway halt we would be very interested in this halt and to its purpose of use will this halt be a state of the art halt to get both passengers to and from George Best City Airport, and also have passenger travel ramps along the covered bridge and will there be Disabled Access to both sides of the rail track with toilet facilities. we ask Northern Ireland Railways to tell us what the plans are for Sydenham Station. We as a Residents Association are working with Northern Ireland Railways in relation to Sydenham Station.

Inverary Playing Fields are a place for the whole community of Sydenham with major events taking place each year, it is a place where everyone is welcome with a lot of work on behalf of Sandra Workman, Robert McCartney and David McConnell, they have brought about great events to Sydenham such as the Titanic Festival and now the George Best Community Cup. They have worked very hard with these events, and our concerns are will they be able to still take place.  Sydenham cannot afford to lose any of these events because of the great community relations they have brought to the area.

The Palmerston Residents Association want to know what payback will the Sydenham area get and what payback will the Community get ,the Stadium looks very impressive but will the local community be able to use it, our area will look run down and not vibrant. The Residents Association want to see our areas upgraded to enable it to take its place beside such an investment as £128m. We want to see our youth centre established as a state of the art youth and learning centre, to enable everyone in the community to have a home and a place to call their own with a coffee shop, computer suite and workrooms for both able bodied and disabled. We want to see our senior citizens and disabled have the right  to travel to Bangor an the Belfast City Airport by train with out having to scale 41 steps up and 42 steps down to a station platform,we hope this will be pay Back time for our community

Palmerston Residents Association

Palmerston Residents Association want to know what  the plans are regarding this site at the Harland and Wolff Welders FC, could this be the site for a new leisure centre and football pitches. We ask the Belfast City Council what their plans were, If there is to be a leisure centre built on this site it begs the question as to why we have a youth centre on the Palmerston Road lying idle, and has been for a few years.  This centre is owned be the BELBH.

We have tried to have this centre reopened for the youth in Sydenham yet it still lies idle, if the Council are planning a leisure centre at  the site on the Holywood Road,  why can we not have our youth hall reopened as a community facility for everyone in the Sydenham and surrounding area. A meeting place for  our senior citizens for lunch or coffee,if plans are a foot for such a facility at the junction of such major link roads we would then ask how would the section at Tillysburn cope with even more traffic, would it not be unwise having  football pitches at such a major road where it could distract motorist using the Holywood Road and the Sydenham by pass.

We ask you the Belfast City Council to enter into talks with the Education and library board to give the people in the Sydenham area a facility that is long over due. We ask you to put up the money to fund repairs to the Sydenham Youth Club and re open it as a community facility for the Sydenham area we all know that such a facility is  much needed in this area.

Palmerston Residents Association Would Like to thank our Community Policing Team for the great input they have made with PACT and the dedication they show to our community, Terry says on behalf of the Palmerston Residents Association once again thank you for the dedication and hard work that you put into our community in Sydenham.

The Palmerston Residents Association are pleased to say that they have been elected on to the PACT panel at a meeting in Wandsworth Community Centre Terry Hoey says this is great for the association.

Terry Hoey says how pleased he was at the election of the Chairman Peter Quigley, he has nothing but praise for Peter who works hard for Belmont Council of Churches and has Chaired the CPLC for some time his Chairmanship of PACT means that his leadership qualities will assure PACT will be a great success.We also thank him for his Chairman's Report 2008/2009 this is an excellent piece of work and shows just how seriously and with detail and time he takes putting it together 

We are also so pleased Alison Smith was elected as Vice Chair Allison is a great asset for PACT as she works so hard in the Community and works with the young community, Terry says if we had more people in Northern Ireland like Alison we would not have any problems and on behalf of the Palmerston Residents Association Terry says well done and we look forward to working with you.

The Residents Association looks forward to working along side the other External Panel Members that are not subject to election and feel with their constant attendance the PACT will become a vital aid to all communities in the areas it represents in South & East Belfast, Victoria Neighbourhood area.  We also look forward to working with the other community groups from RACKS Walkway Community Centre, East Belfast Alternatives,Knocknagoney Community Centre and Ashfield Boys School,We also feel that we must thank Secretary Nuala McKinley for the Great Work she carries out. 

This is an opening made into the drilling site for land samples, could this be another green space we stand to lose. This site  has lots of young trees that would have to be moved to make way for any new development, this cannot be allowed to happen as it will change the landscape of the Holywood Road and move the tree line even further up the Holywood Road.

If this is another development site we will lose another Parkland that is close to the Sydenham by pass you can see by this picture what we may lose, we have to consider our wildlife and the animals that may be affected if this was to become another development site.  We must demand answers from the planning services as to what is going on, once more the Palmerston Residents Association are having to fight for our green spaces and local history.

We see by this photo the bull rushes what would be affected, this site is a gem in East Belfast this habitat  must not be destroyed in anyway. We look to our MLAs to act on this as soon as possible to protect this space before we see this habitat  lost for ever. We ask the Ulster Unionist Party to seek information on what is happening to this Parkland situated on the opposite side of the road from their headquarters on the Holywood Road, we look to the Unionist Party to lead the way on this matter and demand answers from our planning service and  join our campaign to save the trees on this site for the future of our children.

The Palmerston Residents Association are fighting a battle on all fronts to save the environment we live in, and to save our green spaces and trees. Terry Hoey asks the Northern Ireland Green Party what they are doing to save our green spaces, the need to have green spaces is vital to save our way of life and to help green house gases. We cannot let this site be changed as it shields the Knocknagoney area from the Sydenham by pass.We must stop the greying of our habitats.

The Palmerston Residents Association feels that parking issues in the Sydenham area are becoming very grave, planners are encouraging more cars into to the area in their decisions to grant planning permission on more and more apartments in the Sydenham area our MLAs cannot say its not down to them,  who passes the plans at council level? are our councillors not MLAs also.

The Residents Association has for a long time called on our planning services to take into account traffic in the Sydenham area when they are reaching decisions on any new developments, we think its a bit short sighted of our MLAs to think that residents in the Sydenham area would not think of buying cars, to shift the problem on to the police is absurd to say the least, it is up to the councillors to work with the community and listen to them when they say there are to many apartments in the Sydenham area.

We have pleaded with them to think of the community in regard to our disabled, young mothers and the elderly, but they fail to do something about it, it is not much good just playing lip service on these issues, the community wants action. Not passing the problem on to someone else to sort out,we would ask them to think about our bus service if  the bus cannot get up our main roads how will our young mothers, elderly and disabled get to where ever they need to go, parking is a time bomb waiting to explode in the Sydenham area.

In the march to build apartments and railroad through planning decisions facts of life are being ignored, everyone needs to get somewhere no matter who they are, everybody needs to to shop and everybody wants a decent way of life. When the planning department and our councillors cannot see that we have a problem,we have seen  local shops demolished to make way for apartments without any vision as to where people will shop it is up to our councillors not to grant planning decisions if they are causing more parking problems,removing shopping facilities,and not meeting the requirements of our young mothers, elderly and disabled.

Living Streets is Putting People First We encourage more people to walk,and to ensure our streets and towns are designed to allow people to do this. Professionals are  encouraging people to walk and become healthier walking issues are firmly on the front foot and we should be able to do that without trying to negotiate around parked cars. We want to lobby our MLAs and our councillors for change to bring about a better way of life for us all without passing our concerns on to someone else to deal with it.

Living Streets is a Major UK Charity working in the UK to bring better streets for all  we are working  to bring better streets to Sydenham and to encourage more of our children to walk to school, in turn making them healthier,  it also encourages pupils to walk and talk on their way to school and surely making people healthier is what we all want to do but we cannot achieve that if we do not look at parking issues and start to tackle them for the good of the residents and the community as a whole.

Belfast City Airport have donated to local charities for some time so we are pleased to hear a decision has been taken to launch a penalty system recommended by The Examination In Public (EIP)For Flights that fly after 9-45pm, with the money going to a chosen charity as well as helping to fund community projects.

The Palmerston Residents Association has said for some time its best to talk with the airport direct and in a more Business like atmosphere than shouting from the rooftops, we have stated in the past that we would work along with George Best Belfast City Airport to enable them to reach an understanding of community fears, we can say that in talking with Brian Ambrose we found that he wanted to help the community.

The Association met  with Brian Ambrose and his management staff in August 2008, when we discussed with him many issues and we are very pleased that he listened to everything we discussed with him, we can say that it was not a PR exercise on the airports behalf, we talked about the possibility of imposing fines on aircraft to raise funds for the community, by his decision of launching a community fund clearly shows he cares, listens and spends time to engage with the community

The Residents Association Says Thank You Brian Ambrose And Thank You To Your Management Staff For Putting This Fund In Place To Help Charities And The Local Communities

In Reply News Briefs The East Belfast Herald 20th February 2009  

With reference to the recent demolition of the two cottages which made up 2 and 4 Station Road, Sydenham we would like to register on behalf of the local community our utter disgust at this wanton act of historical destruction.

Given the fact that these fine cottages were the last remaining properties of the much larger estate belonging to Gustav Wolff known as “The Den” makes this decision even more absurd.

These cottages were fine examples of period architecture in their own right but coupled with their link to the man who co-founded the world’s most famous shipyard, builders of the world’s most infamous ship, makes it simply beyond the bounds of comprehension to the residents of this area that three years before the Centenary of the sinking of that great ship, that they should be erased from our midst never to return.

Indeed regardless of any link to Gustav Wolff, these Cottages should have been protected as fine examples of our architectural heritage for future generations to enjoy.

We are at a loss, to begin to try and understand the thinking behind such a grossly misjudged decision.

With the Centenary fast approaching, a Titanic Signature project is underway at the Harland & Wolff site to commemorate that globally recognised event which in turn makes the decision to allow these priceless jewels in our built heritage crown to be bull dowsed out of existence, beyond belief.

Notwithstanding his position as co-founder of Harland and Wolff shipyard he was also for eighteen years the Minister of Parliament for East Belfast which should surely count for something in its own right.

No doubt it will be an affront to the readers of this paper from whatever area or community they come from.

However this brazen act raises more questions than it answers.

Where else in the world would allow such a handsome link to the past to be erased from public view without complaint?

Would the United States of America have allowed these houses to be demolished if Harland & Wolff had of being based in New York or San Diego?

Would any country in Western Europe have acquiesced in the destruction of its valuable built heritage in this way?

Indeed, can you imagine ANY country anywhere else in the world that would treat such a valuable resource with such distain?

It is without doubt one of the most ridiculous situations to have befallen this country in terms of historical erosion.

For far too long Sydenham has received bad press and has been viewed by some as an area to be avoided.

An area with few positives to it name.

How wrong an assessment this is?

The work undertaken within our Community, for our Community, by our Community has been nothing short of remarkable in recent years.

The goodwill and generousity of our people to commit their free time to community events and attempts to present a confident, vibrant face to the world has been humbling to be a part of.

Our ongoing work to put Sydenham back on the Map in a positive light is ongoing and will not cease.

Alas, something that could have helped us to tell the positive history of former residents is no longer amongst us.

In those Cottages we had a potential heritage site for a global audience, right on our doorstep.

They could have been incorporated into the main Titanic Project at the Harland & Wolff site and could have helped to put the great area of Sydenham, back on the world map.

This would have gone some way to restore pride in the name of Sydenham and given our youth something to hold on to and call their own.

We must question the determination of the Environmental Heritage Service that these Cottages were not suitable for listing and call upon them to provide full discloser for their findings to support their determination.

Indeed, we were expecting receipt of that report in advance of the determination but sadly to this date, it has not been received despite repeated attempts by us get a copy.

If it is the case that current legislation could not provide safety for these Cottages given their historical links then the legislation requires an urgent root and branch review.

If new legislation is required for the future then that must be the immediate task of our law makers.

We call upon the Minister of the Environment, Sammy Wilson to put on public record his response to this tragic event.

He was quick to applaud our efforts in getting the properties spot listed but has been slow in responding to the news of their destruction.

If he shares our view that a miscarriage of justice has taken place in relation to the destruction of these properties then he is duty bound to make his position clear to the people of Northern Ireland and beyond.

However if he takes his lead from the Environmental Heritage Service as the best people to make the determination then this is a classis case of the tail wagging the Dog.

We have heard much in recent years about the benefit of having local Ministers instead of Direct Rule Ministers and how the future will be brighter for all as our elected representatives are closer to the people and acutely understand the needs of our Community.

We have also heard with much fanfare about the need for Northern Ireland PLC to be managed effectively and all available opportunities grasped with both hands.

This determination then begs the question, who is in charge of Northern Ireland PLC?

Is it our elected representatives or faceless unelected bureaucrats?

Who is really in charge?

We have placed our trust in the people we elected to run this society for the betterment of the community now and to secure the valuable legacy of the history we can all be proud off for the future.

If a review of this case confirms that it would have been in the greater good of the wider community that these Cottages remained standing then we can only conclude that the people standing on the bridge of the good ship Northern Ireland do not in fact have their hands on the lever of power.

They have left the direction of this issue to others.

And if any review finds that the decision made is correct and there was no value in retaining these properties then quite clearly there is no forethought of foresight of the bigger picture at the very centre of our policy makers.

If this sad situation contains no lessons for the future and there are no changes in the light of such an error, then we are surely heading towards a metaphorically iceberg of our own making and the consequences will be sadly predicable with more of the same to come.

Neil McAdam Spokesman

Palmerston Residents Association

Once more we have seen Cllr Naomi Long standing up for the people of East Belfast, the silence of other MLAs in East Belfast deafening. The people have a lot to thank Naomi Long for as she was the first MLA to voice her support regarding the listing of Gustav Wolff The Den on Station Road and two cottages that once stood there. She has given us her full backing in all we tried to do to save these cottages for our history and more important our children's history.

We see her as a champion for the working class people of east Belfast, once again she is the first to show her support for the community. We have to challenge our other MLA’s and ask why did this happen, why were the residents not told when the building was listed by letter from the Heritage Service, and why was the developers told that the building was not being listed days before the date expired, why were the residents not given a chance to see the report the heritage carried out on the cottages

The residents look to the Heritage Service to save our history and our children's history, we feel they have let the people of Northern Ireland down and questions must be ask from the Principal Conservation Architect Mr Manus Deery as to why  he failed to respond to the Residents Association, he claimed in his letter to them on 28th March 2008 he would be in a position to provide a substantive  response within a few weeks. We also have to ask where the MLA’s are now who came out in support to save the cottages, we want to know what questions the MLA’s are going ask the Heritage Service, why has Sammy Wilson kept silent, when  he appeared on the local TV stations he was in support of saving our history for our children, should we ask Cllr Sammy Wilson why he let this happen.after all you know the importance of our children and their history.

We say thank you to Naomi Long for the work you do in our area and the support you give to the Sydenham community and the hard work you undertake on behalf of the Community. 

The Palmerston Residents Association

Will make A statement in the next few days

Chairman

This is what is  left of the Den on Station Road Sydenham Belfast the last remaining part of the history of the shipbuilding in Northern Ireland.The cottages that once stood on this land were bulldozed at 7.15 am on the  19th January 2009.The Residents Association fought long and hard to save the buildings for future generations, however as we the people of Sydenham should have by now realised our views are irrelevant,for to long people have done what they want within our community without asking the community what they want.

This is something different the Sydenham Community were not informed of the decision by The Northern Ireland Environment Agency as to their findings or the decision not to grant listed building status on the two cottages. We also question the departments decision to inform the owners without informing the Community of its decision.

The Residents Association are keen to work with all the government agencies to try and bring about change in the Sydenham area, but we find it hard to swallow when they totally ignore the people they represent,it is unthinkable a major government department would take this attitude. It is not unreasonable to ask why they did not keep the residents association informed of any decisions they were intending to make, this would have allowed us to enter into   talks with the owners of the site,  where we could have discussed having a permanent memorial for the founder of one of the largest shipyards in the world.

We want our government agencies to help us and involve our community when reaching  decisions and to direct and guide our communities in the way forward. We must ask the question as to how can we achieve this when we see a government department like the Environment Agency overlook the people who have ask them for guidance and  expertise. We only ask them to look at the site in question and give their opinion as to whether it  was worth saving and discuss with the community of its findings.

In our history we have seen what happens when government departments walk over communities treating them as if they do not exist. We in the residents association look to  government to work for the people who elect them and it is small communities like Sydenham and the residents association that are trying to bring real change to the area we look to government departments for guidance and help but our community feels it is irrelevant.The residents association  ask the question why has our MLAs let this happen.

How can we afford to let another part of our great shipbuilding history be wiped of the map. Do we need to look at the laws that govern historical buildings, or do we need a change of leadership at the top of the historical building unit before all of our history is gone forever. We look to other major cities all over Europe even the Soviet Union, Germany, have held on to their history but we seem to remove it when ever possible.

Terry Hoey the Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association has spoken of his fears of XLP,HLH,EVB,he wants to raise the profile on these diseases and make our doctors and hospitals look further when they see a child with glandular fever.

Hospitals and doctors must be aware of the signs to look out for with these diseases, it not enough to see a child and think it is glandular fever,my grandson was ill for a few weeks on seeing the doctor was prescribed calpol when he had a very high temperature his mum and dad took him to the hospital. After tests were carried out he was diagnosed with glandular fever. after a period of time Cavan's doctor felt he should be recovering as he was not blood tests were taken and sent to Bristol children's hospital and Great Ormond Street. Cavan was then taken by ambulance to Bristol Children's hospital where they had diagnosed HLH from his blood tests. More tests on Cavan revealed EBV and XLP

XLP is passed on by the mother and it affects only the males in the family. There are a hundred families in the world who have it but they cannot say how many may have it where it has not yet been triggered. The more people who ask their doctors about XLP the more they will look into this disease.

HLH can affect both sexes and happens in children also, (HLH)is a rare disorder affecting young children at a very early age ,but is found in patients of all ages patients with active HLH too many histiocytes as well as lymphocytes (another kind of infection- fighting cell)both of which are so-called white blood cells that may cause inflammation (swelling,redness,heat,pain,and loss of function) these cells then begin to penetrate and accumulate in the good tissue and cause damage to a variety of organs some possible sites of involvement include:bone marrow,lymph nodes,liver,spleen,skin,membranes surrounding the brain,spinal cord,or,more rarely, the brain its self.

What Causes HLH scientists do not yet know all the complicated process involved in this disease. There are two major forms of HLH one known as primary form,is inherited the other is known as the secondary form, the disease develops secondary to inappropriate (abnormal)activity of the immune system this can occur after the use of immunosuppressive therapy and/or infections researched by (Histiocytosis Association Of America)

Terry wants to see all woman screened in early pregnancy to check if they carry the gene to enable the family decide the way forward.These diseases are dreadful and the treatment is huge terry wants all our parties to look at this and encourage our health service to be on the look out for these diseases

Terry Hoey has set up a Trust Fund for his grandson Called The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust he would ask anyone who wishes to donate to the fund to do so by cheque to

The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (Ireland)

C/O 86 Palmerston Road

Sydenham

Belfast

Co Antrim

Northern Ireland

BT4 1QD                email terryhoey@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org

Terry would also like to thank the people who have all ready given to the fund. We would ask anyone wanting to hold  fund raising events for Cavan to please register with either of the trusts.

We would also like to thank all the people of Cornwall Cavan's home town of Bodmin for all the great work they are doing for the trust and the events that are going on to raise funds we have set up a trust in Cornwall it is

The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (Cornwall)

C/O Jen Gendall

6 Springwell Mews

Lovelane

Bodmin

Pl31-2QP               email jen.gendall@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org

We are looking for  sponsors at present as we will be setting up Cavan's new web site interested parties  contact the organiser@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org